Zootopia 2
by mjbookworm87
Summary: Zootopia is facing a new crisis a fish shortage as fishing boats are plagued by unknown and mysterious pirates. The ZPD is called in to solve the case, but it seems that there is more to it than meets the eye. Nick and Judy find themselves entangled with the ZIA and sent on a mission together with Agent Jack Savage to encounter creatures that haven't been seen in hundreds of years.
1. Prologue

The Prologue

It was another cold and foggy night out on the open ocean. The moon lay half hidden amongst the clouds, allowing for only a few rays to shine down upon the surface of the water. One of the rays illuminated a lonely fishing boat bobbing up and down in the darkness. The fishermals aboard had just finished hauling and storing the latest catch of halibut headed to fill the best restaurants in Zootopia. The work was slow going as they had only the light of their head lamps to see by.

"All right everyone that should do it. Tomorrow we will be heading for home," said a large grizzly bear wearing the captain's hat.

Terrence had been captain of the _Mackerel_ for over ten years. It had been a risk going as far out as they had this fishing trip, but the results were worth it. The demand for fish had increased in the past few years, ever since sushi recipes were trending on every mammal's social media pages. As a result, the pressure on fishing companies had doubled and captains were forced to go further and further out into the ocean to search for the large catches and the big bucks.

His crew cheered at hearing the news for heading back home, all except for an extremely sick young ocelot who ran to the side of the boat to "feed the fishes," so to speak. His fellow mammals all laughed at his expense as he came up for air only to hurl some more.

"Poor Mateo, never really took to the ocean, huh", said a brawny jaguar named Miguel.

"Yeah! You would think that after two weeks he would have been over his seasickness by now", replied a small otter.

Mateo walked back to join his comrades clutching his stomach and looking quite green underneath his spots.

"Maybe I am just not cut out to be a fishermal", groaned the poor ocelot.

The whole crew laughed and clapped him on the back, which did nothing to alleviate his seasickness.

"Leave the poor lad alone! I want the anchor down and the lights off. We must conserve energy if we want to see Zootopia again. Miguel, lock the fish locker before you turn down for the night. Mateo, for goodness sake if you must be sick again do it over the side of the boat. I don't want to have another episode of what happened the other night!"

Terrence shuddered as he recalled the vile aroma that had come out of the toilet from one of Mateo's more acrid episodes. No one could use the toilet for a whole morning.

"Ay ay captain", managed Mateo before he headed below deck.

As they settled in for the night, the moon became completely hidden by large rain clouds. As poor Mateo lay in his hammock, the steady patter of rain hitting the deck above them filled the quiet cabins. The young cat whimpered as he prayed for a light storm with no wind and no waves. He curled his tail around his body hoping against hope that he would not have to go above deck in the storm. He was not sure how much time had passed, but he woke up to his stomach churning.

"Oh no!"

He quickly jumped out of bed, wrenched the door open, and sprinted up the stairs remembering the captain's specific orders. Once above deck, he realized the fog had disappeared only to be replaced by a blanket of rain making it near impossible to see even for his cat eyes. Blindly he groped his way to the edge of the boat and went about his business in the cold and wet.

"Ugh! Never again! I would rather go back to Bugburger then be stuck out here!"

He shivered and looking down realized he was only wearing his boxers and therefore soaking wet. He grumbled something about never listening to his uncle and father again. Once below deck, he shook the excess water from his fur as best as he could and headed to the wash room in search of a towel. The pitter patter of the rain echoed all around him. Wishing not to disturb his comrades, he kept the lights off and used his natural nocturnal vision to find the washroom and the much-needed towel. Once he was dry, he looked at himself in the mirror. His face looked thinner than usual, his coat not as glossy.

"When I get home, I am going to pig out on all the bug burgers I can find. I don't care if I told everyone I would never eat them again", he said to himself.

While looking at his reflection, he noticed that the trapdoor to the fish locker was open.

"Strange... I thought Miguel locked it", he said.

He walked over to the door and knelt to inspect the lock. He was surprised to find the lock handle had been cut! Miguel was instantly on high alert, ears pricked, tail erect, and nose sniffing. His mind was racing between fear and excitement.

"Someone is here on the boat," he thought. "It must be a pirate, why else would they have gone for the fish locker? This is my chance to prove to the others that I am not just some useless seasick cat".

He debated on whether he should go run back to his room to retrieve a flashlight. If he did that though the pirate below deck might get away and the captain would chastise him for not being quicker. On the other hand, who knows who was down there and going without a light (and alone) could result in a major catastrophe. Suddenly he heard some thumping downstairs. It was as if someone had just set down something large and heavy on the floor of the locker.

"There is no time", he thought "they are already getting away with some of the halibut".

He bravely (and foolishly) descended the ladder into the frigid dark locker. Being an ocelot definitely had its advantages, he was naturally quiet on his feet and his large eyes allowed him to see in the dark. He cautiously went down the rungs of the ladder, pausing at each step allowing his eyes to refocus. All the while his ears and nose were straining to catch another sound or another whiff of the intruder.

The fish locker was not very large, naturally for a boat the size of the _Mackeral_ , but it was strangely shaped. In order to make some more cabin room for the crew, the locker was shaped like an "L" making Mateo's situation all the more dangerous as he had no idea what lay around the corner. He reached the bottom of the ladder without incident. Mateo released the breath that he didn't know he had been holding. There was a light switch beside him. He glanced at it quickly not knowing whether to flick it on or to sneak up on the pirate in the dark.

"Okay well you are down here. Now what? You fool! You didn't bring the light, nothing, but your scrawny self to stop whoever is in here! What are you going to do if he is some big mammal that could easily overpower you?!"

Just as he was about to return back up the ladder to grab Miguel and Terrence, his ears picked up some more shuffling sounds coming from around the corner.

"Um yeah, getting out of here now!" he thought and made to go up the ladder. Just as his paw touched the first ladder rung he felt a sharp pinprick on the back of his neck.

"What the— "

Mateo reached behind him to feel the soft feathers of what was unmistakably a tranquilizer dart. He turned around to face the shooter only to feel the drugs taking effect on him quicker than expected. He managed to see three very large shadows standing over him before the blackness overtook him and his limp body hit the ground.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a bright and sunny day in Zootopia, perfect day to be out on the town. Many animals lined the busy restaurant district downtown, enjoying a stroll or sitting down at the many cafés with friends. The district was made up of tons of tiny restaurants, cafés, bistros and pubs all with available outdoor seating underneath brightly colored umbrellas. There were so many smells in the air coming from the different restaurants it was enough to make any mammal's stomach rumble with hunger. Certainly, not the kind of day to be wasting inside a hot patrol car.

Judy Hopps was sitting in the driver's seat of their ridiculously oversized police cruiser listening to Gazelle's latest hit, "She-wolf". She was anxious for her shift to be over. She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel humming along to the song. Perhaps after they clocked out maybe she would suggest to Nick to come back to this very street and take in the sights and smells. Maybe even have dinner at one of these delightful cafes. She smiled reflecting on the crazy past couple of years since moving to Zootopia.

Nick had been out of the police academy for about a year now and they made a great team. In the year since they had become partners, they had cracked a number of different cases including single-handedly stopping a gang of hyenas that had been stealing big screen televisions from a variety of different entertainment stores for months. Nick's background gave their team an advantage that some of the other police teams simply didn't have. Nick for years had been operating on the other side of the law, and therefore, was able to think like a criminal and know where their next move might take place. Judy was mostly in charge of the take downs and the intimidation factor. At least that's how Nick usually liked to tell it.

"I do the talking, you do the actual police work," he would tell her with a smirk.

Judy smiled to herself at the thought. Now that she had achieved her dream of becoming a police officer, the next step was looking into becoming a detective. She knew it would take time and at least five years on the force before she could even apply, and she had only been on the ZPD for two years, but hey it was always good to have goals. She felt that detective work came naturally to her. After all, her first case was one that normally would have been handled by a detective. Nick was pretty good too. Her dream was that they would become detectives together working side by side deciphering Zootopia's biggest mysteries. Oh, it would be great! She still hadn't shared her dream with Nick though. He had only just graduated from the police academy a year ago and had only now (with Judy's help) started having confidence in his abilities.

"No need to overwhelm him", she thought.

"She-wolf" came to its last final notes and the news came on over her radio.

"And now the latest in all your Zootopian news here is ZNN news anchor, Fabienne Growley."

"The ongoing pirate attacks on Zootopian fishing vessels continues," said the calm voice of the snow leopard.

Judy's nose began to twitch nervously. She had been following this news story ever since it first started over six months ago. It was a situation that had quickly gone south, probably because no one did anything about it for the first few months. She had been begging Chief Bogo to lend the Zootopian Coast Guard some ZPD assistance, a request that the cape buffalo was hesitant to give.

"The ocean is not part of our district, Hopps. Besides the ZPD is not trained to be out on the water, too much of a liability. I am sure the coast guard will catch these vagrants, it's only a matter of time."

But it wasn't as simple as that. The coast guard had been hard at work every night and still no luck. Judy was sure that if the situation became dire enough that Mayor Swinton would have no choice, but to ask the ZPD to step in. Things were already bad enough as it was…

"The CEOS of the four major fishing companies have come out to declare that due to the number of attacks hitting their ships, the supply of fish has decreased significantly. Vlad Bearmeyer of Halibut Fishing Corporation has even come out to say that the situation is worse than they fear."

"If something isn't done soon, there will be a definite fish shortage in the city of Zootopia," said Mr. Bearmeyer's heavy accented voice.

"Sweet cheese and crackers," whispered Judy covering her lips with her paws. No fish, but what would the predators eat? Their only source of nourishment was seafood and bug proteins. There were even some predators that were allergic to bug proteins, so seafood was their only option for food.

"Mayor Swinton is calling it the biggest crisis of her term in office. The mayor's office is worried how this fish shortage will affect the predator and prey relationship in Zootopia. Things are still tense after the Night Howler incident that occurred only two years ago, when former Assistant Mayor Dawn Bellwether created a serum from the flowers that allowed animals to become violent and unreasonable or "savage". Bellwether was stopped and apprehended by first bunny cop Officer Judy Hopps and now fox Officer Nicholas Wilde. During that time, there was great fear in the city leading many animals to protest against predators. Mayor Swinton is fearful this same level of animosity and fear towards predators may return. Many prey animals are already wondering, if the predators have no fish to eat what will they turn to for food."

"Humph, I highly doubt it will ever come to that," Judy said to herself. Even so the news was still unsettling for sure. Her radio at her hip crackled, causing Judy to jump in her seat.

"Carrots? Hello? A little help here?"

Judy grabbed her radio quickly and brought it up to her lips. 'Nick? What is wrong what happened?"

"Wha-what? What happened? Look nothing happened could you just open the door, I am in a dangerous situation here and I don't trust my balancing skills!"

Oh, that's right. Judy had been so immersed in the news story that she had quite forgotten where she was and why exactly she was parked outside of Dunkaroo Doughnuts.

"Oh, oh! Of course! Hold on."

She tried to reach the handle to open the passenger door, but obviously with her seatbelt strapped on she barely reached past the divider between her seat and the passenger's. She unbuckled her seat belt and hopped over the divider to open the door for Nick. She gave the heavy door a strong push causing it to swing open violently.

"Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy, the situation is not that much of an emergency!"

Judy opened the large door to find Officer Nick Wilde standing outside balancing a large and small box of doughnuts with two coffees teetering and tottering on top. Judy helped gather the goodies out of his hands. Once free to use his hands, Nick deftly climbed into the seat of the cruiser. It was honestly a lot better than the "jokes-mobile" that she first initially had to use, but not by much. This larger than life police cruiser made everything difficult for the two smallest members of the ZPD. Opening the doors, CLOSING the doors, reaching the pedals (Judy had special pedal-reachers made) and opening and closing the trunk (something that, thankfully, they had not needed to use…yet). It was embarrassing and Judy had requested Chief Bogo for something a little more geared towards their needs. He had curtly replied that he did not care about their problems and if they would rather go about in her former vehicle he would gladly oblige. In other words, they were stuck with this giant thing until they could convince the chief otherwise.

"Took you long enough," Judy said glancing over at her partner, who was currently sniffing her drink, before wrinkling his nose in disgust and handing her the offending cup.

"Blegh! I don't understand how you can drink just tea! Carrots, hasn't anyone told you that to be an official officer of the law, you must drink coffee and eat doughnuts?"

"Hardly the case, besides tea is so much better for you than the 'coffee' that you drink. Hasn't anyone ever told you that real coffee doesn't come with whipped cream on top?"

Nick stared at her defiantly as he noisily sipped from his caramel mocha frappe with extra whipped cream and nutmeg.

"Hey, you know what to each his own, but at least mine is actual coffee. It says so in the description below the name," he replied crossing his arms and closing his eyes acting offended.

"Right. What is with the extra box, Slick? I know you foxes have pretty high metabolism, but I wouldn't push it."

"This," he said holding up the large box of doughnuts, "for your information, is for my good friend Clawhauser. He is the precinct's gossip and main source of information. I like to keep him happy, friendly, and chatty with me, especially when it comes to matters with the chief."

He grinned widely, the smallest hint of his fangs showing underneath his black lips. Judy rolled her eyes and started the car.

"You may have graduated top of your class, Carrots, but you still have a lot to learn when it comes to keeping your ears and eyes open for the latest bit of information. Not to mention knowing a mammal who is in a seat of power when you see one."

"Clawhauser, in power?"

"Clawhauser is the first one you see when you walk into the precinct and the dispatch. He goes into Chief Bogo's office all the time. He gives out the officers their case files. You have no idea how many bits of information goes through that cat's paws every day! He also knows all the gossip. So naturally, I want to keep things between us friendly and chummy, in case I should ever need information on anything or …anyone."

Nick winked at Judy when he said this. Judy did not share the same opinion of the ZPD's chubby cheetah as being some sort of gatekeeper to all secrets and knowledge. Clawhauser was not what you may call subtle or careful in the information that he gave or who he gave it to. At least, that was her impression. She had been wrong in the past, however.

"I find it in my best interest, to keep in contact with several different animals who are useful to me," Nick continued. "And the best way to do this is by little favors or small gestures of friendship, a box of doughnuts for instance. It was my main strategy for keeping one step ahead of the law and having the ability to get anything I needed, say fake permits and receipts of declared commerce…"

Judy slammed on the brakes. She turned and glared at him. Nick only wiggled his eyebrows at her with the biggest most mischievous grin she had ever seen.

"You mean to tell me those were fake," she demanded.

"Hey what gives!"

The cars behind Judy and Nick started honking at her stopped vehicle. Flustered Judy drove on making the final turn into the ZPD parking lot. She put the cruiser in park and turned to face her partner again.

"I can't believe those were fake all this time!"

"Easy, Carrots, it was a joke don't get your ears all up in a twist", he calmly said grabbing the boxes and opening the door on his side.

Judy breathed a sigh of relief, not wishing to have been outfoxed again, even if it had been a longtime ago.

"But I do know a horse at city hall who may or may not work in the comptroller's office…"

* * * * * * * The evening ended with a pleasant stroll together down the restaurant district and dinner outside a café specializing in omnivorous food. Judy and Nick took a break from their conversation to watch the sun set and the city lights come to life under a full moon and a clear sky. No stars could be seen, due to the bright lights from the city, but to Judy it was still a beautiful sight to see. She took in a deep breath, as if attempting to literally take it all in and keep it there in a treasured memory.

The moment was interrupted at the sound of her cellphone ringing. She took out her phone and saw the picture of her parents grinning up at her. She groaned and silenced her phone. She would call them back later. They always had the worse timing.

"Oh, is it Stu and Bonnie calling again," Nick asked sitting very comfortable in his chair his tail lazily flicking the air.

"Yep, sure is. Just the weekly phone call from the parents." Judy hoped that her parents wouldn't try calling again.

As if on cue, her phone started to ring again. She knew that if she didn't pick it up her mother would be calling the police to check up on her. The irony in that statement did not escape her thoughts at all.

"Sorry, this will take only a second," she said glancing over at Nick, her ears flattened in embarrassment.

Nick merely shrugged and turned to watch the other restaurant guests go about their business, though Judy knew his ears were pricked to catch any bit of conversation between her folks and herself. She clicked on the answer key and held her phone up to her ear.

"Oh, hey mom and dad," she said a bit too loudly, "sorry I can't video chat with you I am actually out having dinner."

"Hey there Bon-Bon," said her mother.

"Hey there, Jude-the-Dude," came her father's voice.

Judy flinched she hoped that Nick didn't hear that one, judging from the smile on Nick's face, he had. She frowned hoping against hope that wouldn't become a new nickname.

"We just wanted to check up on you and see how you are doing. It's been over a week since we heard from you last."

"Mom, you called me three days ago. I am fine just got done with my shift and now I am having dinner with Nick."

"Oh, well that's nice dear…um… you know it's always good to have a good _working_ relationship with your _colleagues_ , but don't you think it's high time for you to get out there and make some _new_ friends?"

Judy flinched at her mother's words and shot a worried look toward Nick. If he heard anything his body language didn't give anything away. A quarreling table made up of a skunk, raccoon, badger, and koala had caught his attention. Judy muttered to Nick that she would take the phone call over by the outskirts of the restaurant pretending she couldn't hear. He nodded and waved her away still watching the troublesome table, that by now had the waiter and the restaurant manager headed towards them.

"Judy? Judy? Oh, Stu I think we lost her. Ju— ".

"I am here, mom," Judy interrupted her mother as she reached a safe distance where she would no longer be within earshot of Nick's sharp ears.

"Oh good, well I don't mean to cause offense sweetie, but it seems to us that you spend an awful lot of time with that partner of yours— "

"His name is Nick, mom," Judy interrupted her mother again trying to hide the annoying tone in her voice.

"Nick. It seems like you have been spending a lot of time with him, and only him. Don't you think it is time for you to get out there and meet some new mammals? You know ones that are not wearing badges?"

"I have Fru Fru, mom. Remember I have gone out with her before."

"Yes, but with her new baby it is harder for her to get out of the house, and you need to find mammals who are in the same state of life as you. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Now is the time to meet up with friends and have fun. Besides…"

Her mother seemed to hesitate before saying the next thing she was going to say. Judy nervously ran a paw through her ears wondering what else her mom wished to add to her plate.

"Besides don't you think it's about high time that you started dating?"

Judy's paw fell away from her ears as she stared at her phone and her imaginary mother in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right," was all she managed to answer.

"Why would we be? Honey, you realize you are the only daughter of ours over the age of eighteen that has not had a single boyfriend. Jennifer, Jessica, Julie, and Janet are all either in a relationship, engaged, or married. Jennifer is pregnant again, expecting another set of quintuplets, and you haven't even gone out on one date! You have so much to offer, Judy, and you have accomplished so much. More than any other one of your brothers and sisters your age. You do so much for other mammals, don't you think it is time to do something for yourself, for a change?"

Judy pondered her mother's words. Dating, the thought had never even crossed her mind. She had always been so focused on being the best academically and personally speaking. Her whole life she felt like she had been heading towards her end goal of becoming the first bunny cop. Now that she had reached her goal, it only seemed natural to set her sights on the next level up. And if she managed to gain the role of detective, what then? Captain? Chief? It had to end somewhere. Eventually there would be no more rungs to climb on the career ladder. And where would she be? Alone on top of the ladder, but sad and empty.

"Bun-bun? I am not saying these things to try to upset you," her mother's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Judy snapped back into reality. She looked down at the phone in her paw.

"No, no mom you are right. Perhaps I should focus on making some new friends. I am not sure if I am ready to start dating. After all there aren't that many bunnies here in Zootopia."

None, actually she thought to herself. The only other rabbits she had seen were mostly on trains or buses either heading into the city or out of the city. How did you actually go out and meet other mammals of your same species in such a big city anyways? Online dating? There was always the option of dating outside of your species, but Judy was sure that wasn't exactly the kind of dating her mother had in mind.

"Well now that is not entirely true. Today when I went down to the farmer's market, I ran into Annette Thumper. Do you remember her? Well her son, you used to be in the same class, Peter has recently moved to Zootopia in the Meadowlands district. He has a job there working as a desk clerk. I would be happy to give you his number if you want."

"Oh…wow…gee…thanks Mom. But like I said, I am not really ready to start dating yet. I mean I have only been on the force for two years. I still have plenty to learn and Nick and I haven't really worked out all the kinks as the smallest ZPD officers on the force. I would be far too busy to pay anyone attention…".

Judy knew that she was rambling now, desperately trying to say something, anything to get the idea of dating out of her mother's head.

"Alright, sweetheart, but you know if you do feel lonely or homesick you can always give Peter a call. I am sure he would appreciate seeing someone from home as well. I will let you get back to your dinner, I am sorry to have kept you. Please apologize to your fox friend for me, I mean Nick. Please apologize to Nick for me and you take care now."

"Thanks mom I love you."

"Love you too, ciao!"

Judy hung up the phone, sighed and groaned. She had been so enveloped in her conversation with her mother that she had hardly noticed that Nick was no longer at their table, but speaking to the manager of the restaurant. Judy hurried over to see what was going on.

"Nick, what is going on" she asked coming up to his elbow.

Nick thanked the restaurant owner and turned to look at Judy with a look of complete disbelief at her.

"What do you mean what is going on? Man did you not see the disturbance that just happened here about ten minutes ago?"

"What disturbance? I was on the phone."

"Well it must have been some phone conversation with your parents, because it was quite an entertaining show going on over here," he replied walking back over to their table to take another sip from his water.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"It appears that the fish shortage has officially started hitting Zootopian restaurants. A raccoon at table six over there threw a fit once he found out that they were all out of seafood for the night. The waiter blamed the fish shortage. The raccoon was angry because he had been looking forward all week to having the house specialty, pan fried halibut. When his compatriots could no longer contain him, I of course had to step in. One swift glance at my badge and he backed off. He and his party left just a few minutes ago."

Judy couldn't believe that it had finally come to this. She stared over at Nick, trying to gauge what he was feeling, but the fox had on his uninterested expression on. It was a mask he wore well, especially when it came to situations like this that could bring up bad memories of predator prejudice.

"I can't believe I missed all that. It sounds, like you handled that situation like a pro. I am proud of you, Nick". She smiled at him.

Her compliment broke the façade and he grinned at her looking quite pleased with himself.

"I learned from the best," he replied giving her a wink. "Honestly, I think it was the restaurant manager who had it worse than the guest. He is very rattled about this whole fish shortage thing, saying the truth is that he can't afford the prices of the fish, like he once could. Certain types of fish are so rare to find nowadays that the price on them has gone up."

"Well, I think that this is the final straw. Chief Bogo will have to do something about this."

Nick nodded.

"In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he covers it first thing tomorrow morning."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nick's alarm sounded at 5:30 am every morning. He quickly hit the snooze button to start the hour-long cycle of alarm snooze repeat. At 6:30 am, he felt it was finally time to roll himself out of bed and start his day. After showering, brushing his teeth and fur, he carefully put his police uniform on taking care that there were no stains or stray hairs on it. Right before leaving his room, he looked at himself in the mirror, as he always did. And every morning the same bittersweet thought would cross his mind, "oh mom if only you could see me now".

After getting dressed and looking presentable it was breakfast time. This morning his roommate was awake and cooking something that smelled delicious.

"Mmm, what is that wonderful smell I am smelling," he asked taking a big whiff.

"It's none of your business. This grub is mine! So back off Wilde."

"Top of the morning to you too, Finn," replied Nick with a chuckle.

Finnick was busy at work making his famous omelet, he was so short however that all Nick could see of his roommate were the tops of his oversized ears.

"Oh, come on Finn, what do you say to a bit of that breakfast of yours. You can't tell me that all those years of working together never meant anything to you!"

Nick gave Finnick his best puppy dog eyes. The smaller fox just ignored his antics. It had become part of his morning routine as well. Get up, shower, make breakfast and ignore Nick. Nick sat down on their barstools that lined the kitchen island/table. There was a glass of orange juice that had already been poured and left unattended. Nick helped himself to the orange juice.

"WILDE! How many times have I told you to lay off my orange juice? You have a job now get your own!"

Finnick came from around the corner carrying a heavily laden plate of his famous southwestern style omelet, baring his teeth.

"Well, I figured since we are roommates now that makes us closer than friends. We share the same living space together, the same bathroom, the same kitchen…it stands to reason that we share the same food. Besides I know for a fact you swiped my sour gummy worms last week, so the OJ is fair game today!".

"Whatever, hey shouldn't you be heading out to work," asked Finnick plopping down on the bar stool next to Nick and glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Oh Finn, you do care," Nick said giving the smaller fox a forced bear hug and artfully scooping a forkful of omelet into his mouth at the same time.

The smaller fox wrenched himself free from Nick's grasp.

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Bye honey, I will be home late don't wait up for me," Nick called back as he quickly headed out the door dodging the barrage of flying cutlery that had been hurled at his head.

Nick took the bus to work, mostly because the larger animals tended to avoid the smaller buses, but also too because it was his way of looking out at the streets of Zootopia and taking in all the sights and sounds. Nick loved to make it his business to know everything about everyone. Everyone important, of course. Taking the bus, allowed the clever fox to keep tabs on his fellow hustlers and see where they were located at now and what product were they trying to move. He had been looking for Weaselton who seemed to have either skipped town or found a new place to skulk around ever since the Nighthowler incident. Probably afraid of Nick now that he was operating on the right arm of the law.

Nick grinned at this thought. It was so gratifying to finally be in a position of power. When he first graduated from the academy, he couldn't help but visit some of his old stomping grounds wearing his uniform. It was his way of sending the message of "see there is more to me than meets the eye". Many of his old pals and contacts took it as a hint to either stop their business or to be extra careful. Others, like Finnick, saw it as a golden opportunity to get something in return from Nick. This was actually in fact how they had become roommates. Finnick had approached Nick asking for help moving some illegal product, thinking that Nick would turn out to be a crooked cop. He had been very much surprised to find that his old accomplice was no longer interested in conducting that type of business. Nick had played what he called his last hustle. He had threatened to arrest Finnick for trying to bribe an officer of the law and possessing illegal merchandise. Finnick had panicked and tried to bribe Nick with something or anything to keep himself from being arrested.

"Nick…buddy…we are pals, right? We have been business partners for over ten years now. We are the dream team you and me. Why don't we just let bygones be bygones and you let me go this one time. Come on I will make it worth your while."

"Hmm…that is tempting, but what could you possibly have that this newly graduated _homeless_ rookie cop could possibly want," he had grinned a toothy grin and stared expectantly at Finnick.

With a loud groan and quite a bit of cursing, the two foxes became official roommates, and Nick kissed the box under the bridge good bye forever.

Finnick's apartment came with a few conditions. First, Nick was not allowed to bring anyone over, especially cop friends, and second, Nick was not to pry into Finnick's latest business endeavors. Nick had readily agreed to the conditions. He understood the kind of animal Finnick was and despite appearances had grown to care for the pint-sized fox with the abnormally deep voice. This was the best way to keep tabs on his best friend, that is, before Judy came along.

Judy. His life had turned around so much since he had met that naively optimistic grey country bunny. He wondered if she knew exactly how much she meant to him. Ever since his mom had passed away prematurely he really had had to fend for himself. With no one to galvanize him into being someone more than the stereotype, it seemed only natural that his life had turned the way it had. It's not like he hadn't been confident in himself, he knew the things he was good at (talking his way out of anything and being one step ahead of everyone), but he just hadn't had the guts to challenge what the world saw him as. Meeting Judy and seeing how she was able trump the stereotype of dumb bunnies time and time again is what had motivated him to speak up for her that night in the Rainforest District. It was at that moment that he recognized in her the hope that he once had so many years ago. A hope that had been dashed by the reality of the prejudice shared by almost all mammals towards foxes. A prejudice that Judy no longer shared with those mammals.

This was why Nick had such a hard time letting go of Judy's company. It was such a refreshing ray of happiness and positivity. He felt like he could bask in it all day long, he had gone so long without it. Nick's ears flattened as he thought of what Judy's mom had said to her.

 _"Oh, well that's nice dear…um… you know it's always good to have a good working relationship with your colleagues, but don't you think it's high time for you to get out there and make some new friends?"_

Nick knew he was guilty of high-jacking most of Judy's free time, but only because he just loved hearing those reassuring words of belief in himself. Besides, despite its setbacks, Zootopia was really such an incredible place, and he liked sharing its secrets with that cute sly bunny. He sighed as the bus stopped a block away from the precinct. Bonnie was right. It was high time Judy made friends with other mammals. It was not fair of him to take up most of her time and it would probably do him some good to hang out with some of the other officers around the precinct. Clawhauser had already insinuated to him that it was only a matter of time before the bunny-fox team became a different kind of 'partners'. Luckily, Judy was completely oblivious to these insinuations, but they did not go past Nick's understanding at all. He simply couldn't have those kinds of rumors buzzing around the precinct, it could damage the great friendship he had with Judy. Besides how absurd would that be?

"Well I suppose it wouldn't be the weirdest combination I have ever seen," Nick mumbled to himself as he stepped through the doors of the ZPD, "there was that one time I swore I saw a giraffe and hippo getting snuggly together…".

"A giraffe and hippo?".

Nick yelped not realizing that he had been speaking loud enough for Clawhauser to overhear him. He quickly recovered his composure and stuck his paws in his pockets trying to appear stoic.

"Yeah, weird, huh," he replied.

"Oh, you mean Gloria and Melman? Yes, I remember them. Gloria works at the mall and Melman was the ZPS delivery guy. I personally think it is super cute and romantic."

Clawhauser clasped his paws together and sighed. Nick was impressed at the cheetah's extensive knowledge of Zootopia. It was almost as good as his. Almost.

"Eh, I suppose," he shrugged off the comment hoping that Clawhauser wouldn't bring up another potentially "cute" couple like he had in the past.

"You know what would also be romantic?"

Great here it comes. Quickly think!

"Hey Clawhauser have you heard the latest pop sensation, I think they are called Moose 5 or something…".

It worked. Clawhauser gasped loudly and glared at Nick's nonchalant face.

"You mean Mongoose 5? Um, yeah? What mammal hasn't? They are the biggest thing since sliced bread, apart from Gazelle of course."

"Of course," replied Nick internally brushing away some imaginary sweat from his imaginary brow.

"Oh, by the way, thanks for the doughnuts they were awesome! I almost never make it to Dunkaroo's, their lines there are so long."

"No problem," Nick replied smiling up at him," anything for my favorite cat."

"Also, as your friend and biggest shipper—,"

Nick shot him an annoyed glance.

"I should tell you that the Chief mentioned to me yesterday that if you show up late one more time to the meetings in the morning, he will have you doing parking duty for a month so…" He indicated the door to the entrance of the "bullpen".

Nick nodded his thanks to him and headed over towards the large assembly room used for roll call.

"Nick! Over here!" Judy was waving over to him enthusiastically from the front of the room. Since most of the seats were meant for much larger animals, Judy and Nick had to share a seat at the very front. Nick didn't mind it was a great way for him to whisper some sarcastic remark or other to Judy whenever Chief Bogo would choose to lecture the officers over some new policy or complaint.

"Morning! I am so excited today we get in some new recruits," cried Judy her little foot stamping the ground in expectation.

"Ha. Bunnies," Nick thought smiling at his partner's twitching. She just got excited for just about anything.

"Morning to you too, Carrots. Huh, where are their bright eyed and bushy tails at?". Nick glanced around the room of officers. "You can spot a new recruit from a mile away, they always look just like you did when I first met you: emotionally unbalanced. Excepting yours truly of course." He placed paw on his own chest as he said this. He smiled at Judy's frown.

Judy was about to reply when Higgins opened the door and called all officers to attention as Chief Bogo came inside the room, looking grumpier than usual. He reached his podium and absent mindedly fumbled through his paperwork. This didn't look good the Chief never fumbled. Nick and Judy exchanged a worried glance as did many of the officers in the room. The Chief kept looking at his paperwork, when a knock came at the door. Higgins opened it and in came Mayor Swinton herself. She was followed by a large grizzly bear, a polar bear, and an otter.

"Those are the CEOS of the three major fishing companies in Zootopia," Nick whispered to Judy so that only she could hear.

"I knew this was going to happen," she whispered back.

The Mayor took her place at Chief Bogo's side, while the other animals waited sheepishly off to the side, like recently scolded children. Huh, now that is something you don't see every day, Nick thought to himself. The word on the street was that their new mayor was tough, tougher than what you would think, considering she was a pig. She was also very smart and never afraid to speak what was on her mind. After the disaster with Bellwether and Lionheart, Zootopians seemed to want to fill the open position with someone who meant business. Regardless, however it still seemed rather odd for the mayor of Zootopia to appear before the officers. Interesting.

Chief Bogo looked at Mayor Swinton, who nodded, and then turned to face his officers, brows knit and furrowed.

"Good morning. As you can see, this not your average roll call meeting. For those of you who have been living under a rock, this is of course Mayor Swinton, John Grizzleton of Big Fish fishing corporation, Vlad Bearmeyer of Halibut Fishing Corporation and Marcus Pawhnson of Pawhnson Fishery. As I am sure you are all aware, Zootopian fishing companies have been attacked by pirates for the past six months causing a fish shortage." Chief Bogo paused and snorted in frustration before adding, "I was just informed this morning that this is a lie and that in fact it has been going on longer. The attacks began over a year ago, right around the time when we were dealing with the Nighthowler incident."

There was an audible gasp from the officers. Nick couldn't believe what he was hearing. How did they let this go on for so long?

"Chief Bogo, how could this have happened," exclaimed Judy. She was on her feet, practically ready to jump on the table. "How could the mayor and the ZPD have allowed this to happen?". Nick tried to grab her bunny butt back down into the seat, but she pushed his arms away. Was she crazy?

Before the Chief could respond, Mayor Swinton cut him off and stepped forward. She glared at Judy with an expression that clearly said, "back off bunny". Judy backed down immediately and resumed her seat beside Nick. Nick gulped. Swinton was intimidating even if she was a pig.

"I will have you know, Officer Hopps, that I was not currently serving the role of mayor when all this began, but former Mayor Lionheart himself was not aware of the situation either. By the time, it came to city hall's attention it had already started to affect the economy. We were not aware of it until six months ago. These so called 'leaders' of their companies, thought that they could face this situation quietly each one blaming the other of sabotage. By the time these idiots decided to call the authorities the thieves had already grown in number and in boldness. If they had reported this to the proper authorities when it first initially began, none of this would have happened and they would not have allowed the perpetrators time to perfect their crimes!"

Mayor Swinton seemed to deflate the slightest bit. She glared at the two bears and otter who were comically looking down at their toes, avoiding eye contact with the angry pig. The otter looked like he was about to faint. She turned back to the officers and to Chief Bogo, who was now also glaring daggers at the CEOS.

"It is now high time that Zootopia's finest joins in the efforts in controlling this situation," Swinton continued. "As far as I am concerned, this is a crisis that can lead to a catastrophic response from the general public, which is why the information given from here on out will not leave this room. Chief Bogo has assured me that every officer in here can be trusted with keeping sensitive material a secret even from their closest family and friends. Chief Bogo has already seen this presentation once, but insisted that it should be repeated for you."

Swinton shot Bogo an annoyed look. Clearly, she thought her presence here was a waste of time. Chief Bogo remained unusually silent with his arms folded. Swinton continued.

"I have asked the three major fishing companies to compile as much information regarding the pirates as possible from their own experiences and that of other smaller companies or individuals. As may come to no surprise to you, they have very little to no information regarding the culprits." Swinton threw her hands up on in the air in a gesture of complete frustration. "I don't know how, but there you have it."

Mr. Bearmeyer angrily interrupted Swinton, "Hey this is not true. We have found some information, but they have to understand that these—these _things_ are nothing like what we have ever seen before. We-"

"Mr. Bearmeyer, desist from speaking any further," snarled Swinton, her hair standing on end. "You have wasted far too much of my time with your lame excuses, and I do not intend for you to do the same to these officers. You there, Pawhnson!" She pointed to the now visibly trembling otter, who was trying to hide behind his folders. "Read the eye witness accounts now!"

Mr. Pawhnson came forward and cleared his throat. "The fi—fi—first account came was back in June almost two years ago. It was from a rookie fishermal an ocelot named Mateo Catinez. In his eyewitness account, he recalls it being a wet and foggy night. The attack happened around three in the morning, he was up due to seasickness when he noticed the fishing locker lock had been cut and the door open. He went down to investigate alone without a light and heard noises. When he went to go get help he was struck in the back of the neck by a tranquilizer dart. He was unconscious for _three_ days."

"What?!"

"Three days? That can't be right!"

The officers all cried out in disbelief. Nick flattened his ears. Three days? What kind of crazy tricked out dart was that? At most tranquilizer darts, at least the ones that the ZPD used, could knock a mammal out for several hours, but never days.

"Shut it!" Bogo shouted over everyone else's voices. The officers immediately were all silenced at their chief's words. Bogo had seemed to have regained control of himself. He took out his reading glasses and looked down at his paperwork.

"I won't let Pawhnson bore you with the rest of the details of each individual case, because as Mayor Swinton said, they are all the same. The pirates come in at night, normally during inclement weather where visibility is slim to none, and then they go in stealthily to steal some if not all the catch of fish. All this poor ocelot could remember of his attackers were 'three large shadows', which does not give us much to go on. What I cannot believe is how none of these fishing boats have managed to catch ONE image or video of these criminals. They all say the same. The cameras were disconnected before the attack. No explanation nothing. The crew and the hired security guards to protect the crew also give similar accounts of large shadows, but nothing more. Those unfortunate enough to encounter the pirates meet similar fates as poor Mr. Catinez did, irrelevant of their size."

The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Nick wasn't feeling so sure how the ZPD could possibly make a difference in this situation. He stole a glance at Judy. Her ears were down and her nose was twitching nervously, he could practically hear her rapid heart beating inside her chest. But her eyes had a familiar gleam in them. Nick already knew what she was thinking, "challenge accepted". This worried him.

"Now Mayor Swinton, the Zootopian Coast Guard, the CEOS and myself have come up with a plan as to how to best deal with this situation. The coast guard will be increasing their patrols in the areas close to where these boats are getting hit. Our detectives are busy working with the lab to try to formulate some sort of lead based from the little evidence found on board the ships and the serums in those tranq darts." Chief Bogo huffed. It seemed like whatever he was going to say next was what had placed him in such a foul mood.

"I will have you know that I do not care for the next portion of the plan, but the Mayor, city council, and everyone else seems to think this is the best strategy so it appears I have no choice in the matter." He glared at Swinton. Swinton smiled smugly at him.

"We will be splitting up officers in groups of two per ship. You will be equipped with our body cameras which will remain on at all times. Of course, not every ship will have a ZPD officer on it, but at least the larger vessels will. You will accompany the fishermals on their two-week fishing excursions and report back to me anything out of the ordinary. It is our hope that increasing security with highly trained officers along with the hired security guards will increase our chance to capture at least one of these pirates."

"Oh, how exciting! I have never been out on a boat before," Judy whispered excitedly.

"Eh, it's not all that it's cracked up to be. Picture a large lake and you pretty much have the ocean, except with more waves," Nick whispered back.

"Now don't think that this is going to be some kind of mini-vacation. You will be on patrol every night and during the day learning all the ins and outs of your appointed boat. I want one of these culprits caught in a matter of two weeks or less! I am not dispatching half of my officers to be out on the ocean for nothing. Make it count!"

"Two weeks? He's kidding, right? The first thing that is going to happen is that the pirates are going to see the extra muscle and they are going to lay low. I bet you anything it will be a quiet first two weeks, not to mention boring," Nick whispered placing his chin on a paw.

"Now here are your assignments. Please note that I have chosen those mammals who are more adept at working night shifts and under the conditions that the attacks have been occurring, so some of you will need to be reassigned new partners if you are not on this list." Bogo took out a list and looked it over.

"New partners," Judy whispered in surprise. She gave Nick a worried glance. Nick had a sinking feeling that his name was on that list.

"Oh, please no wolves," Nick muttered under his breath.

"Fangmeyer, Grizzoli you will be escorting the crew of the _Marlin_ ; Snarlov, Johnson will be on the _Shark_ ; Anderson, Jackson you will take the _Minnow's Revenge_ ; Wilde, Wolfard the _Mackeral_ , and Johnson you will take rookie cop Bearsky on the _Starfish_. You are to report to you're the Zootopian docks first thing tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. sharp. You are dismissed for the rest of the day. I suggest going home to pack and get some rest."

Nick's heart fell as he heard his name. Ugh great… He turned in his seat sulkily to glance at Wolfard. The grey timber wolf sat with his arms crossed and growled at him. Oh yeah, this was wonderful.

"What? Why wasn't I called?" Judy whispered. She stared at Nick in complete disbelief. Nick sighed. Naïve little bunny.

"The rest of you will see Clawhauser for your new reassigned partners. Some of you will be paired up with some of our new recruits. This is only temporary until we bring these thieves to justice. The faster we bring down these pirates the faster you get back to your old teams. Consider this as motivation to get the job done. Now I need to continue talking over the details with the Mayor and the CEOS. Do NOT bother me over these assignments, my decision is final." He seemed to stare only at Judy as he said this.

"Thank you, officers, for your time. I trust that with your skills we will bring down these criminals in no time," said Swinton taking her leave of the room. Bogo and the other animals followed her as soon as the door shut the entire room erupted as the police officers all excitedly started discussing what had just occurred.

"Can you believe this has been going on for over a year?"

"I don't care what Chief says I will treat it like a vacation!"

"Do you think the Chief knows that I have a history of seasickness?"

Amongst all the hubbub, no one seemed to notice the two smallest officers standing silently side by side trying their best not to show to the other their disappointment in their new assignments.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"I cannot believe this is happening to me again," Judy exclaimed angrily. Her foot was thumping so hard that it looked like a blur. "How could he do this to me…AGAIN! Have I not proven that I am not just some token bunny? I was the one that solved the Night Howler incident, and without any help from the ZPD. We didn't have our equipment on us, we were in our civilian clothes for crying out loud!"

The inside of Judy's ears was turning red. She began to pace on top of the table, Nick silently watching her, his expression unreadable. Gosh she couldn't stand that side of him, she thought. How could he be this calm?

"What do I need to do to prove to him that I can do things just like any other police officer," she cried slumping down on the edge of the table, her ears drooping in defeat.

She could hear Nick take a seat beside her on the table. The rest of the officers had already cleared out of the room either headed for home or headed out to Clawhauser to receive their new assignments. Judy was in no rush to meet her new partner. She should not need to have a new partner. Nick was her partner! She turned to look at him. The fox was staring at his paws in an annoyingly calm manner. Why isn't he complaining about his new partner?

Wolfard had left without saying much more to Nick than, "Don't be late." Judy knew that Nick wasn't happy with his new assignment either. For some unknown reason, Nick had a thing against wolves. It had been apparent to her since the first time she had met him. And it appeared that Wolfard didn't care too much for foxes either. Funny how some things, regardless of how much they had evolved, didn't change.

Judy looked at her own paws. She felt like her dreams of becoming a detective might be met with more of the same annoying road blocks that had blocked her before when she was attempting to be a cop. What was it about her that was lacking? Maybe it wasn't Bogo at all. Maybe it was Mayor Swinton who had a say in who was to go. All the officers that had been chosen were the predators. Lions, tigers, bears, wolves, and one fox. Perhaps it was those cowardly CEOS, too. They didn't know about her and her capabilities. Maybe the Chief had been out voted in sending his number one fox and bunny team to find these pirates. Well, she wasn't going to just sit around and let them get away with this!

Judy stood up with newfound resolve and determination to save her reputation. "Carrots, what are you doing," Nick asked in an almost bored tone.

"I am going to go up to Chief Bogo's office and explain to Mayor Swinton and those cowardly CEOS that I am more than capable of accompanying the other officers on the ship. Chief Bogo was probably out voted by the mayor. You saw how she was! She probably didn't think that I could do the job! Well I will show her!"

She hopped down from the table, only to find that her feet never touched the ground. Nick had grabbed her by the back of her shirt and placed her right back beside him on the table.

Judy glared at her friend. How dare he stop her! What he didn't believe in her too? What gives?

"Carrots," Nick sighed, "Judy, listen I am sure there is a very good reason why Chief Buffalo-butt didn't choose you to go on the mission okay."

Judy's eyes widened at him. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from her best friend.

"Look he didn't give us much information about the case, but what he did say was that these pirates were stealthy, they were large, skilled at using tranquilizer guns, and they only attacked at night. It stands to reason that Bogo wanted only the officers who _naturally_ had better senses than the other officers."

Judy was confused. Better senses? "I am not following," she said.

Nick got down off the table so that they were eye level to each other. When Judy looked into his green eyes she saw fear and worry…and frustration.

"Did you not notice that all the officers he chose for this mission were preds," Nick asked, speaking slowly as if he were explaining something to a child.

"Yes, but— "

"Why do you think that is?"

"Obviously because the pig thinks the rest of us are no good at what we do, but I am going to prove her wrong— "

"Carrots, it's because as predators we naturally have more heightened senses than you prey!"

Judy huffed and crossed her arms. Nick slapped himself on the forehead in frustration.

"Okay, look Grizzoli and Snarlov are polar bears, yes? Do I really need to explain why they were shown preference?"

"They are strong and good swimmers," Judy replied annoyed with his patronizing tone.

"Bingo. Okay Delgato, Johnson, Fangmeyer, and Jackson are all cats. What do these big cats have that say McHorn doesn't?"

"Nick, if you have a point just say it. I am not some young kid!"

"We were all once nocturnal, Judy! It means we can see in the dark just as well as we do during the day! Wolves, tigers, lions, foxes," he pointed to himself, "we all _naturally_ see well in the dark. We all have very good senses of smell and hearing, and we are pretty good at sneaking up on other animals without being heard. We are the natural first picks."

Judy couldn't believe him. After all they had been through, had she not proven to him that she was just as good a swimmer as a polar bear, she was stealthy (who got passed a whole pack of timber wolves), and when it came to hearing she had the best set of ears the ZPD had to offer. How dare he! She was just about to begin yelling at him, when she stopped and noticed he had become very somber. He was looking down at his feet and stroking his arm with one paw awkwardly. Judy's ears drooped to see this rare display of emotion from him.

"Judy," there he went again using her first name, "I know how amazing you are and I know you are more than capable of getting this job done, but these animals, whoever they are, have been at it for two years now. No one has managed to capture them and no one knows who they even are. I…I am glad that your name wasn't on that list." He almost looked ashamed to admit it.

"Nick, I get it. It's a dangerous mission, but don't you see this is just another road block for animals like me. I am being placed in a stereotypical slot, again! And I cannot just stand by and let this happen. I want to challenge myself and allow myself to grow."

"Carrots, putting your life on the line is not the way to 'grow'! Bogo is scared of this new enemy I can sense it, and he probably doesn't want to place one of his best officers in the front lines without first knowing what he is up against. Heh, that's probably why he chose me over you. I am dispensable."

Judy chuckled at his joke. Nick was right Bogo was scared, she had never seen the cape buffalo fumble like he did at the beginning of the meeting. Perhaps Nick was right, maybe once at least one of the perpetrators was caught she could join the team. Once they knew what they were up against.

Nick chuckled. "I mean you have never even been on a boat before, how do you know you won't get seasick?" He looked up at her with those big green eyes of his. Judy couldn't be mad at him. He seemed genuinely worried and scared. In her frustration of not being picked, she had forgotten what a dangerous mission this was. He was concerned for her safety. She suddenly realized that she should be concerned for his safety too. He would be gone for two whole weeks with a partner who looked like he could barely stand him. How would she know if Wolfard had her friend's back?

"You're right. I have never been on a boat, but it still hurts to hear someone tell me again that I can't do something," she hung her head as she said this. "Nick, I am sorry I was angry and I have not really shown any worry for your safety! I mean are _you_ going to be okay?"

Nick leaned forward smiling slyly. "Hey Carrots, don't worry about me I will be fine! I bet you anything this is going to be the quietest two weeks ever. I will text you whenever I can to keep you updated on what is going on." He winked at her. "Don't worry you will have your dumb fox partner by your side in no time. Just promise me you won't get too chummy with your new partner, wouldn't want to make them too jealous once I am back."

"Alright." She hopped down from the table and gave the fox a big hug. He patted her on the back.

"So emotional," he teased. She punched him playfully on the arm.

"Alright, enough of that. Let's get to Clawhauser, I don't want to keep my new partner waiting much longer," she said trying to keep her tone light and happy. She was still upset and hurt, but it didn't seem like there was much she could do to change the Chief's mind. Nick was right, the predators had probably all been favored for the reasons he had listed and with the stakes being so high the CEOS and Mayor probably would have seen it as too much of a gamble to place any other officers on those ships. Besides Nick was right, the pirates would probably lay low once they saw the extra security forces on the ships, then she could approach Chief Bogo and see if he would consider having her join the mission.

Judy and Nick left the assembly room and headed towards Clawhauser's desk. There was no one milling around it, all the other officers must have already received their new orders and left for the day. Judy was a bit embarrassed for not making a good impression with the new recruit, but she was determined to try to keep a positive attitude for the rest of the day. After all, it was this new officer's first day at work. Clawhauser was leaning over his desk chin in both paws talking to a very pretty young skunk who was swishing her tail around playfully as she giggled at something he was saying.

"Oh, and here she is! Stella, I would like you to meet your new, albeit temporary, partner Judy Hopps. Isn't she just the…sweetest," Clawhauser faltered over his words as he had just been about to say the word cute.

Judy was surprised. She hadn't heard that there was going to be a new female officer on the team let alone a smaller animal like this one. Stella swished her tail around her body as she turned to meet Judy. She was very petite, had long lashes decorating her blue eyes, and her white hair had been styled in a very elegant manner for the first day on the job as an officer. All the same she looked like she was in good shape and eager for the job.

Judy stuck out her paw to shake hands with her, Stella took her hand eagerly. "Officer Judy Hopps, but you can call me Judy. Wow, I am so excited to see another female officer here at the ZPD! Could you possibly be the first skunk police officer?"

"Guilty as charged," Stella replied back shrugging. She had a bit of a twang when she spoke that reminded Judy of some of the people back home. Stella's eyes then widened as something behind Judy seemed to catch her eye.

"Oh…my…Nicky is that you?" She brushed past Judy causing the skunk's fluffy tail to slap Judy in the face as she did. Judy angrily pushed it away from her face as she heard Nick say, "Erm...yes? Have we met?"

Stella giggled and tickled him underneath his chin flirtatiously. "Of course, we have. Don't tell me you have forgotten little old me already." She placed her hands on her hips in a very coquettish manner, the tip of her long tail reaching over to brush his tail.

Judy got this weird feeling at the pit of her stomach as she watched the two animals interact. She wasn't sure what it was, but she didn't like it. She frowned and crossed her arms, as realization filled Nick's eyes.

"Oh, ho ho… Stella? As in Stella Skunkiwick?" Suddenly his entire demeanor changed like as if an unpleasant memory had just dawned on him. He backed away from the skunk, laughing nervously with one paw rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Judy's eyes widened at this complete unorthodox behavior from Nick. Who was this girl?

"Heh heh, so uh how you been," Nick asked lamely walking around Stella and seeming to try to hide himself behind Judy.

Stella chuckled at his awkwardness. "So, you do remember me? I have been great Nicky! How about you? Looks like you have been doing well for yourself. Who would have thought all those years ago that that skinny little kit would grow up to look mighty good in a police uniform?" She winked at him as she looked him up and down. Nick continued to laugh nervously. Judy turned around and looked at him with one eyebrow raised. What was wrong with him? Wait! Is he blushing?!

"Well, Officer Skunkiwick," Judy said quickly and maybe a bit too loudly, "I think we should probably get to our assignments, yes?"

"Oh, honey that's not my last name anymore. I changed it as soon as I turned 18. Always hated that name, didn't I Nicky?"

Nick looked like he wasn't sure how to answer her question. Judy rolled her eyes, she just couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Nick," she punched him a bit hard on the arm causing him to flinch back to reality.

"The name is LeFleur now, after one of my favorite book characters, but please just call me Stella, Judy," continued Stella. She turned to Judy swishing her black and white tail playfully as she did so. "I know I am only your temporary partner, but I do hope that we can at least become friends. I really am looking forward to working with you." She batted those long eye lashes at Judy and smiled warmly.

Judy doubted she could be friends with this annoyingly fake skunk. There was some sort of history between her and Nick, and from Nick's reactions it wasn't pleasant. Besides… 'Nicky' really?! Ugh.

Judy managed a smile for her and said, "Of course, so do I. Any friend of Nick's is a friend of mine. But really, we should be getting to our assigned duties. Which are?" Judy turned to Clawhauser who had been just sitting back observing the whole exchange. She was annoyed to find him looking very entertained by their conversations.

"Oh, Bogo wants you two to go on patrol around Savannah Square and just offer other officers assistance if needed," he handed Judy her folder.

Judy's ears drooped in disappointment. Great she had to be in a hot car all day listening to Miss Debutante probably talk her ears off about 'Nicky'.

"Well! I guess I should be going, needing to pack and sleep and all that! See ya later, Carrots don't be too rough with Stella, heh heh." Nick turned quickly and speed walked right out of the precinct.

Clawhauser laughed at Nick's retreating back. "Oh girl! I am positively DYING to know how you two know each other. I have NEVER seen Wilde this skittish before. EVER!"

Stella chuckled again patting down her hair. "Oh honey, it's nothing special just two young kids who lived in the same neighborhood and who shared the same dream."

"Ooo and what dream was that", gushed Clawhauser as Judy shot him an annoyed glance.

"To prove to others what we were capable of," replied Stella gazing off in the direction that Nick had taken.

The rest of the day crawled by as Judy showed Stella the ins and outs of Sahara Square. It was a beautiful day in Zootopia, lots of mammals were out on the street going about their business. Stella seemed to have realized that Judy wasn't much in the mood for talking, so she stayed relatively quiet unless Judy spoke to her. This was how most of their morning past. When it came time for lunch, Stella timidly asked if it was alright for them to stop at one of her favorite restaurants, Judy reluctantly agreed still feeling annoyed with the skunk. They stopped in front of Pandera, a quaint little restaurant that served soups and sandwiches for both predator and prey alike. Judy had been here before several times with Nick. Nick had mentioned that it was a favorite among those mammals, like him who often ate both meat and plants. They had a great salad here that Judy, especially liked.

Once they were settled into their seats, Stella made another attempt at conversation with Judy.

"Listen, Judy, I am really sorry if I had said something that offended you earlier. I can tell you have been upset with me over most of the day. Could you please tell me what it is, so that I can make amends?"

Judy looked up from her salad at Stella's pretty face. She genuinely looked like she was willing to make amends. Judy sighed. She felt bad for the way she had been acting towards Stella. After all, whatever had happened between her and Nick was in the past, and it was clear that they hadn't seen each other in a long time. It might not even be a big deal.

"No, I should be the one apologizing, Stella. I think you just caught me on a bad day. I was really disappointed when I wasn't chosen for this big mission that Nick and some of the other predators get to go on. I think I am just tired in having to prove myself over and over again. You know?"

Stella nodded. "It's not easy for the smaller mammals like ourselves. I mean being a skunk is hard enough as it is what with all the smell jokes that the other animals say. Most mammals don't seem to realize that young skunks get our scent glands removed when we turn 13. I think that is why Nicky was so nervous once he recognized me. You see, Judy, my daddy is a scent-gland remover for animals like skunks, ferrets, and weasels. He is also a full time barber."

Judy's eyes widened as she remembered an old memory. "Wait a minute, Nick once told me that he gave Mr.—um a very dangerous person an expensive wool rug made out of a skunk's butt. Was he talking about using the fur from your father's barbershop?"

"Wow, yes! I can't believe he told you that story. It got him into heaps of trouble, it was one of his first hustling schemes and the last time I ever saw his fluffy red tail again. My daddy was so mad when he realized what Nicky was doing with the clippings from his barbershop. My daddy had offered Nicky his first real job at his barbershop. He was basically the janitor, didn't pay much, but hey it was something! After we found out about the scheme he was pulling and the type of mammals he was selling the rugs to, my daddy wanted nothing to do with the 'thieving sly fox'. I was forbidden to see him again, even though we had practically grown up next door to each other for most of our young lives."

Stella blinked back tears. Judy reached over to touch her paw. "You guys were really close weren't you," she said.

The skunk nodded and then she giggled. "You know I even had a huge crush on that cute little kit," she admitted.

Judy felt that same strange feeling in her stomach at Stella's words. Could this be jealousy?

"Not that I ever told him, the little charmer. He was just always so caring and loyal. Oh, was that boy loyal. I think that was my favorite part of him. I just always knew that when he grew up he would be one specimen of a male, for sure." Stella sighed happily. "Judy, you have no idea how happy it makes me to see him with such a great partner. You two seem to be as thick as thieves! And that's just the kinda person Nicky needs to have around him you know."

Judy smiled at her new partner. She was a bit too vivacious for Judy's taste, but she could see now that Stella had a lot of heart, and seemed to truly care about Nick. Something that they both had in common. Even though her preferred partner would be gone for two weeks, maybe having Stella as a partner wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Help police help!"

A frantic antelope ran into the restaurant waving his arms in the air. A thief has just stolen my car! My baby is in the back seat please help!"

Judy immediately jumped into action. "Which direction did they head in, sir?"

"South on Acacia, oh please get her back!"

Judy glanced at Stella who was already on her feet, tranquilizer gun in hand. "You ready for some real cop action, partner?"

"I reckon I am, partner!"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nick Wilde couldn't believe his luck. In one day, his partner had been replaced by a ruddy wolf, he was going to have to take a two-week long excursion out in the ocean facing who knows what, AND to top it all off Judy's new partner was Stella Skunkiwick. He groaned loudly to himself causing the hedgehog and bobcat who were sitting on either side of him in the bus, to scoot a bit further away from him.

What were the odds that one of his old friends from when he lived in the Swamplands with his family would show up again in his life. Not only that, it was the daughter of the only mammal, other than his family and Judy, that had showed any sign of belief in him. Something that he had completely ruined with his half-brain scheme of making rugs out of cast off animal fur… Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was always afraid that Mr. Big had tracked down Mr. Skunkiwick as the source from where the offensive skunk-butt-rug had come from, but he never had. Thank goodness. Well maybe having Stella as Judy's partner wasn't such a bad thing. She didn't look like much, but that girl could pick a fight and finish one. That's what happened when you were the only girl of a family of four boys.

He reached his apartment that he shared with Finnick. It was still very early in the morning, Finnick would be out doing who knows what so Nick would have the whole place to himself. He sighed. He really wasn't looking forward to a whole day by himself in this dank and dark apartment. He packed up a bag for his two-week excursion and then made himself a sandwich. As he was eating on the kitchen island his cell phone text alarm sounded. He glanced at it to find a text message from Clawhauser.

"Okay. I am DYING to know how you know our newest sexiest police officer?!"

Nick rolled his eyes. That girl. He bet she charmed the spots off of that cheetah with that little country accent of hers.

Nick texted back. "Who?"

"Oh, come on Wilde! Spill the beans how do you know her? Former girlfriend perhaps?" The message was followed with the broken heart emoji.

"She wishes. More like girl next door, sister of good friends, our moms were best friends kinda deal." Nick could only imagine what sort of crazy drama was playing in Clawhauser's mind.

"Let me guess, she was totally scrawny and puny when she was younger, so you never paid her any attention until now. Now that she has grown up into the curvy sassy female that she is now, you are just DYING inside for having let her go all those years! EEEK! It's like a movie!" This was followed by a series of smiley faces with hearts for eyes and winking faces.

Nick rubbed his temples with his fingers, growing more irritated with the over imaginative cheetah. He texted back. "Clawhauser, you have been bugging me about Carrots for months, and now you are going to bother me with Stella? Give it a rest. I am not interested in dating right now! I can't be the only bachelor on the ZPD. Isn't Wolfard a bachelor too? Go bother him!"

Nick slammed his phone screen down on the table and crossed his arms. It was like the spirit of his mother lived on in that crazy spotted cat. His phone alerted him again to another text message. With a sigh, he picked up to check the message, and immediately regretted it.

"O. ! LOVE TRIANGLE! EEEEK!" This was followed by the omg and popcorn emoji.

Nick growled despite himself and turned off his phone. He headed over to the couch not sure what to do with himself for the next few hours. He sat down and grabbed the remote looking for something good to watch.

Hmmm, even though Clawhauser was wrong about any romantic ties, he wasn't wrong about Stella's looks. She did look…well…you know…great. This was probably the biggest thing that had caught Nick off guard. He remembered the puzzled look Judy had given to him, when he was trying to hide behind the bunny. Real smooth Wilde, real smooth.

He finally found a program on mammals discovering the bones of dinosaurs. Perfect, boring and dull. This will knock him out in no time. Nick settled himself down in the couch making sure to set his alarm clock on the off chance that he slept later than he needed. A nerdy looking sheep came on screen describing what a dinosaur was and where it was that the first discoveries had been made.

"I wonder what Judy will think of Stella. Gosh, I hope she doesn't start sharing stories about me. Like that one time I tried going after that vixen, Marian and then her sister Trixie. Geez, Stella was in love with me back then, though. I bet you she will just be gushing about me…Heh I wonder what Carrots will think of that. Wonder if she will be jealous…" Nick stopped mid thought. Why would she be jealous? Darn it Clawhauser! Now his idiotic ideas are starting to influence my thoughts.

"Besides why would she be jealous," Nick asked out loud to no one in particular. "There is nothing to be jealous about. We are just friends, geez!"

He settled back into the documentary watching different mammals wearing cowboy hats and jean vests (ugh) digging in the dirt looking for fossils. He wasn't exactly sure when it was, but Nick eventually fell asleep. Hours later he was startled awake by an obnoxiously loud car alarm going off right outside the window. Nick looked around him, it was dark out, the moon and the stars were out and everything in the apartment was quiet. A quick sniff and Nick realized that Finnick was still not home. This was not out of the ordinary, sometimes Finnick stayed out later some nights. Nick suspected he might have a lady friend, but knew better than to ask. The television was still on and was now showing one of those ridiculous reality television shows about log cutters. Nick switched the TV off and looked for his phone. It was still off. Nick turned it back on to find that he had three missed phone calls and one text message from Judy.

The message read "Nick call me when you get a chance!" A sinking feeling hit Nick in the pit of his stomach. Oh no, what did Stella do to her? He hesitated before calling Judy back. She must have been waiting by her phone because she picked up almost instantly.

"Nick? Where have you been? I have been dying to talk to you!" Her voice sounded more excited than anything else, Nick was relieved. At least she wasn't still mad at him for earlier this morning.

"What do you mean, Carrots? I am being a good officer and following our fearless leader's orders. I packed and I slept. How about you why are you still up at..." He checked the time on his phone "almost 12 in the morning. This isn't like you."

"Oh, Nick I have been having the best day! I mean I know it didn't start out that way, what with Bogo not choosing me for the fishing mission, but it just all turned around and got so much better!"

"Oh yeah? How so, Fluff? You didn't seem to be overly fond of my old friend as your new partner…how…how is she doing?"

There was a slight pause from her end and Judy replied with hesitation in her voice. "Oh, you noticed too huh? Geez, I wish I wasn't so conspicuous with my feelings!"

"Carrots, you wear your heart on your sleeve, anyone can tell what you are feeling. And you looked a bit…peeved of having Stella be your new partner." The word that rang in Nick's mind instead of peeved was jealous, but he had quickly changed it. He wasn't altogether sure why, but he was positive Judy wouldn't have liked having been accused of jealousy.

"Well it was mostly your reaction to her," Judy replied defensively, "Which by the way Stella told me why you were acting so weird around her."

Nick's ears flattened and he tugged at his collar nervously. "She did…wha-what did she say?"

"She told me that her father was the barber where you would get your animal fur from to make those fake wool rugs that you would sell to people. Which by the way, was really wrong of you! Mr. Big could have traced Mr. Skunkiwick down and punished him for a crime he hadn't even committed what were you thinking!"

Nick relaxed a bit, but still felt ashamed. "Nothing gets past, you ya sly bunny." He could almost feel Judy's accusing eyes on him. "Well that was why I just up and left so suddenly. I couldn't let Mr. Big…or anyone else know who my supplier was. Honestly, I thought Stella would be madder at me then she was…that was also why I was acting so weird. I was half expecting her to jump on me and punch me…like she used to when she was mad."

That and I wasn't expecting her to look so darn…curvy, Nick thought blushing under his fur. There was a long pause on Judy's end. Nick wasn't sure why, but he didn't like it.

"Is…is that the only reason why you were acting so out of character," she asked meekly.

"Yeah, I promise," Nick lied.

"Alright, well I believe you," she answered though it didn't sound like she did. There was a long awkward pause. Nick kept his phone to his ear. He honestly wasn't sure why he felt like a lousy jerk for thinking Stella attractive. He was a full blooded single male mammal. He was allowed to think other females were attractive…so why did he feel so guilty?

He cleared his throat and took a stab at breaking the silence. "So, um, you never told me why your day took such a turn for the better. Did something happen while you gals were out on patrol? Come on, Carrots, give me the low down just how terrible of a cop was she?"

This seemed to cheer Judy up. "Oh, it was amazing, Nick! It happened after lunch a father antelope came to us and informed us of a car thief who had just stolen his vehicle along with his infant inside! I immediately jumped into action and Stella was up on her feet as fast as me! We both ran to the cruiser and booked it out of there after getting the license plate number, make and model of the car. Stella immediately grabbed the radio and radioed in the information asking for immediate backup in searching for the car. I didn't have to tell her anything! It was like watching me work. We eventually caught up to the culprit, who was stuck behind a large truck carrying construction equipment. He saw us coming and decided to book it out of there leaving the baby inside. I stopped the car and told Stella to run in and grab the baby. She immediately did so and I was off on foot after the car thief! He was a— "

"Warthog," interjected Nick.

"How...how did you know," Judy asked surprised.

"Pff, Carrots, when are you going to learn that I really _do_ know everybody. His name is Carl real nice guy, but has a thing for cars. A bit of an adrenaline junkie." Nick put his feet up on the coffee table as he prepared to hear the rest of Judy's story.

"Well, I chased him down the busy street on foot. He was fast for a mammal his size. He headed for the underground subway where I lost him in the crowd. I radioed for Stella, who said she had already returned the baby to her father and was ready to assist. I told her to go down the nearest station and start heading east on the Red line. Just as the subway doors were closing I caught sight of the warthog inside. I quickly ran inside the car closest to me and began making my way through the crowd towards him. It was the lunch hour so you can imagine how crowded it was."

"What is it with you and trains, Hopps?"

"Shush! He ran out the emergency door and managed to wrench open the door to the second car. I followed quickly after him, by this time the train was coming to a stop and he ran out the doors with me hot on his heels. He made his way up the stairs barreling through a herd of wildebeest. This slowed me down a bit, because I was trying hard not to get trampled, once I was free from the herd I thought I had lost him only to hear him shout above me. I reached the top of the stairs to find him on the ground and Stella standing over him!"

"And this is when those wrestling lessons her daddy paid for her comes in handy," Nick interjected again.

"Oh, Nick it was amazing! She didn't even need to use her tranq gun. As soon as he was down, she was on top of him wrestling him down like as if he wasn't an animal twice her size. At one point, she even hurled him over her shoulder, knocking him unconscious!"

Nick wasn't surprised. Even though Stella spoke like a little Southern lady she was as wild as they come and quite capable of holding her own. The training at the police academy, he was pretty sure, had only perfected the wrestling skills she had learned from her father and brothers.

"Sounds like we found your new protégé, Carrots. I am glad to hear that you didn't get stuck with a lame partner."

"I was so impressed. I asked her how did she know that he would be coming up this way. She replied that she figured he wouldn't have the stamina to keep running forever and would need to hide back in the crowd as soon as possible. It was just inspirational."

"Well I am happy for you, Hopps. Sounds like you are going to be just fine without me. Wish I could say the same for me. I will be stuck with Wolfy for the next two weeks." Nick groaned in aggravation.

"Come on, Nick, I gave Stella a chance and look how it turned out. You should give Wolfard the benefit of the doubt. He has always been real friendly to me and the other officers seem to like him. I hear he has the best nose in the business."

"Yeah, well you are also not a fox," Nick argued back.

"What does that matter," Judy asked.

"It's a canine-thing you wouldn't understand," Nick replied, "besides I do believe I have a better nose than he does, so there."

"I know you can't see this, but I am rolling my eyes at your immaturity," Judy teased.

"You'll see what I mean, by the time this whole mission is over there might not be anything left of me to return back to Zootopia," complained Nick.

"Would you stop your childish complaining! Wolfard is your new partner, so it's your job as well as his to get along whether you like it or not. Remember the sooner you catch these animals the sooner you will be able to come home! So… get over yourself!" Nick hated when Judy lectured him like that. She was right of course, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

There was a slight pause, before Judy asked quietly, "Are you scared?"

"Heh, who me, nah! Come on, Carrots, I have come face to face with the jaws of death of a savage jaguar! It will take a lot more than some scary shadows to scare this old fox!"

"Nick," persisted Judy.

Nick sighed. "Alright, Carrots," he conceded, "yes, a little. Can't fool you, can I?"

"Nope, no you can't. Just promise me you will be careful."

"Scout's honor, Carrots."

The smell of salt and fish filled Nick's nostrils as he made his way down to the Zootopian docks the following morning. It was a brisk morning; the sky was overcast and the waves were coming in rather rough. Nick had been on a boat before, but he wasn't too keen on getting on the ship now as it bobbed up and down on the rough water. It kept making these creaking sounds that made him wonder if she was truly sea-worthy. Wolfard was already there in full uniform talking to what Nick could only guess was the _Mackeral's_ captain, a large grizzly bear wearing a jacket that looked like it was two sizes too small for him.

Alright, Nick, just think positive. Maybe working with a stupid-howling-timber wolf won't be so bad after all. Wolfard turned and scowled as Nick approached. Nope no, Carrots was wrong. Wolves suck.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Wilde," growled Wolfard.

"Sorry, big guy, a fox needs his beauty sleep. Not all of us can wake up in the morning looking as chipper and joyful as you," Nick sarcastically replied back.

Wolfard snarled at Nick's comment. "Shut it, Wilde. This here is Captain Terrence, he tells me that the _Mackeral_ was in fact the first ship to be attacked by these unknown pirates."

"Officer Wilde, it pleases me to have yours and Officer Wolfard's added assistance. Not going to lie, my crew are all very scared of these pirates, even with the added muscles that the company hired on. We have actually been hit over ten times. Each time it has been the same in the cover of night, sometimes on foggy nights, sometimes on clear nights. Anyone who comes close to these 'shadow pirates' as my crew calls them end up in the hospital in a coma for days."

"Any other further description of these animals that you can give us, Captain," Wolfard asked.

The grizzly shook his head. "I haven't seen them myself, but I get the feeling that they seem to be leery of the larger crew members. I have noticed that the times they have attacked is when a smaller crew member, like poor Mateo, is on watch."

"What about smell? Any particular scents that any of your crew members have picked up on?" Wolfard grabbed a pad a paper and began writing down what Terrence had told him. He shot Nick an annoyed glance, as if wondering why he wasn't writing these things down.

Nick held up his paws at him, annoyed at the wolf's prudish behavior.

"Negative, the pirates seem to come from the water so their scent is masked by the sea and fish. And whatever we do find is…odd…very odd." The grizzly bear frowned.

"Well it so happens, sir, that you've got the best nose on your vessel," Nick assured him. Wolfard growled at Nick. "Um, make that the _two_ best noses, though _science_ dictates a fox's is better, but we don't want to offend anyone." Nick grinned slyly up at Wolfard, who looked like he was ready to punt the fox out into the open ocean.

"Listen officers, I want you two to realize that this is a very serious matter, and all of our jobs and livelihoods are on the line here. I cannot continue to support my family under these conditions, and I know that the other crew members feel the same. I would appreciate professionalism. I am the captain of this vessel and mammals do not quarrel on my ship, got it?" He placed his two massive paws on his hips as he stared down at the two canines.

"Of course, Captain," replied Wolfard shoving Nick as he said so.

"Ay ay, sir," replied Nick as he shoved Wolfard back.

The grizzly rolled his eyes and went up the ramp aboard his ship, clearly not impressed by the two officers' antics. As soon as he was out of earshot, Wolfard turned to Nick and bent down so his big nose was level with Nick's.

"Now listen up, Fox. I don't like you and you don't like me, alright? It's just natural that way. So let's get one thing straight, since I am the more senior officer, I will call the shots and you will follow my lead. Do you understand, hey Foxy-Loxy?"

Nick flinched at the nickname. Well two can play that game. "Sure thing, Big Bad, whatever you say." He tried to stand as tall as he could so he could meet the grey wolf's eyes.

Wolfard snorted at the nickname, grinned, and grabbed his bag and loped his way up the ramp. Nick relaxed and frowned. He got out his cell phone and sent a quick text to Judy.

"Yep, I am going to be dead meat. I expect a lovely eulogy from you Hopps, when I return in pieces."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Judy woke up to the sound of a loud thunderstorm outside her apartment window. It had been almost a week since she had been reassigned to work with Stella as her new partner, and Nick was off voyaging on the high seas. During this time, there was little to no communication between the two friends, due to bad cell phone reception. The little information that she had gathered from the few phone calls she was able to receive showed that everything was going well and quiet on board the _Mackeral_. In fact, Nick spent most of his time when his cell phone did get service complaining about Wolfard.

"He is so prudish, you know? I mean, honestly, he is a wolf for goodness sakes not some noble animal like a horse! The way he carries himself you would think he was the best officer in ZPD. A gift for all mammal kind!"

"Has he howled yet," Judy teased.

"NO! And so help me if he EVER does I will jump off this boat and SWIM back to Zootopia! Smelly, brown-nosing, Wolfnerd. Actually, that is what I should call him, Wolfnerd! Do you know why?"

"Because he is a nerd?"

"YES! A big one! With his stupid pen and paper and his 'Foxy-Loxy'. UGH!"

Nick had lost his signal at that point, but Judy had got the point. She wasn't exactly sure why he had such a strong hatred for wolves, when she had asked Stella she didn't seem to know either.

"You know, honey, I have never understood it either," Stella had responded, "I always thought that he was bullied as a kid."

"I mean they are in the canine family. Does he feel the same way towards other foxes? Coyotes?"

Stella had shrugged. "The only other animals Nicky used to hang around with was my brothers and a few fox friends. But don't worry, sugar, Nicky will be alright. Before you know it, his two-week excursion will be over and he will be back by your little cottontail side in no time. I wouldn't worry your cute little head about it."

Then Judy had needed to correct Stella, who apologized immediately saying that she had forgotten the 'cute' rule among rabbits.

"You know another bunny, Stella? Gosh I thought I was the only one here in Zootopia, I hardly ever see any others."

"Well, that's because you live downtown, honey. They are all over the place in the Meadowlands district, matter o' fact, that's where my friend lives. You should meet him one day, he is very handsome, and pretty tall for a jackrabbit." Stella had winked at Judy in a playful manner.

"Maybe…someday…once this whole fish shortage is over I will feel less on edge and more inclined to meet new people. This whole situation has gotten everyone walking on egg shells and the increasing tension is starting to worry me." Judy had replied frowning at what was happening to her beloved Zootopia.

The thunder rumbled again. Judy got up from her bed and walked to her window watching the rain pounding down against the glass. She wondered, not for the first time, if Nick was okay. If the crew was okay and if anyone of the officers that were aboard the ships had made any progress on their mission. In the few days of their absence, crime was beginning to rise. There was a lot of movement amongst the different mob gangs in Tundra Town, which boiled down to the mob bosses trying to control what little fish supplies there were. Super markets were running low on and some had simply stopped catering towards predators, complaining of fights breaking out amongst shoppers. Chief Bogo had not given any further details on the mission, despite her ceaseless daily inquiries. She sighed as she watched the rain pounding down. "Nick, wherever you are, I really hope you are safe," she whispered.

Her cell phone rang, causing her to jump a foot in the air in surprise. She glanced at the number on the caller id. It was a number she did not recognize, curious to know who was calling her after midnight she picked up the phone, nose twitching.

"He—hello?"

"Carrots, are you there?"

Judy gave a big sigh of relief. It was so good to hear his voice again. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it. His voice was coming through faint and crackly, but with her superb hearing she was able to hear him clearly.

"Oh Nick, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear your voice," she cried excitedly.

"Huh, me too, Carrots. I borrowed the captain's satellite phone, without his permission," he added slyly, "and I know if someone catches me I will be in loads of trouble with my new BFF." Judy figured he was talking about Wolfard.

"Well why take the risk? Is everything okay? Has anything happened?" Judy grasped her phone tightly against her cheek, wishing so much that she could be out on the boat with Nick, where all the action was happening.

"Well yes and no. Yesterday we received news on the radio that the ship that Fangmeyer and Grizzoli were on got hit! I am not sure what happened, but it sounds like the two officers were able to catch a glimpse of shadows coming over the side of the boat, before they were both ambushed by tranq darts. The _Marlin_ is on its way home right now with two unconscious police officers and one knocked out security guard."

Judy gasped. "Does the Chief know? He hasn't informed any of us about what is going on! I have been in his office every day begging him for information!" Judy's ears raised up immediately. "Nick! Have you seen anyone on your boat?"

"We haven't seen a thing, it has been very quiet, though the crew assures us that it normally happens during the second week. But here is the real reason why I am calling you…" He paused for a long time, long enough for Judy to think that she had lost the signal.

"Nick?"

"Carrots, we have been ordered to stay out another week if necessary. The mayor, Bogo, and everyone wants at least one of these pirates captured before we come home. So, I am afraid you will have to be stuck with Stella for another week."

Judy's ears drooped in disbelief. But what about us? We are partners in crime, and we were going to be partner detectives. How on earth were they going to reach that goal now if they were expected to be separated from each other some more. Besides…

"No, Nick, I cannot accept that!"

"Carrots…"

"No! You are my partner! We work well together, and it isn't fair that I have to sit here and wait while you are out there facing real danger. Things are getting rough here in Zootopia, there are thefts, fights, the mobs are getting involved. Nick, things are going downhill fast and it's not going to be better if you guys are out at sea for another whole week!"

"Carrots, what other choice do we have? As much as I hate to admit it, but Chief Buffalo-butt is right. We need to catch these guys otherwise this mission will be wasted. What do you suggest that you come out here and your presence is going to make catching these guys faster?" Judy wasn't sure why, but the tone in Nick's voice had gone from annoyed to upset. She was upset too, what was it with him not believing in her lately?

"I am suggesting that we give you guys a break," she shot back angrily. "You are not used to working in these conditions and the Chief should let other officers, fresher officers, take your place. We are only endangering your lives even more if we leave you out there cold, wet, and tired for another week. I am going to tell Bogo tomorrow morning that this is absurd and unethical."

"Carrots, you will do no such thing," Nick responded with a raised voice. Judy started at his change in tone. He almost never raised his voice at her. It was happening… they were growing apart already before they had even begun to test out their full potential. Judy's eyes began to water a bit, hurt in the lack of faith from her best friend.

"Look, I don't like it out here either," Nick continued in a calmer tone than before, "but we are already out here. And maybe that will serve as motivation for us to get the job done. Wolfnerd is already coming up with a different strategy so we can avoid ambush. I hate to say it, but Big Nose has come up with a pretty good scheme. I am confident that if they hit the _Mackeral_ we will be waiting for them. Trust me, Carrots, they won't know what hit them."

Judy groaned in frustration and collapsed on her bed phone still in hand. She felt so helpless, she hated the feeling knowing her best friend was out there risking his life and didn't have her by his side. And she hated the fact that it seemed like Nick was losing his faith in her capabilities. Perhaps she was being too hard on him, it was a dangerous situation, maybe he was just scared for her. Because I am small… she couldn't help but think. Oh! Wolfard better have his back or else he will have me to contend with when comes home!

"You promise," she asked finally after a long pause.

"Scout's honor, Carrots," Nick replied back, "and promise me you will be doing everything you can so that team Stinkbunny keeps things under control at home."

"Stinkbunny?"

"It's a work in progress," he replied coolly.

"Judy sugar, are you okay? You look as if you were just told Christmas was cancelled. What's wrong?" Stella was walking beside Judy as they finished up their last shift. Judy didn't feel like answering her. She was upset and hurt over her conversation with Nick. All she wanted to do was to go home and watch a movie and forget about this whole fish shortage ridiculousness. She had been like this all day, Stella had been a good sport about it, and kept to herself most of the day. It seemed though that the uncharacteristically gloomy bunny was beginning to worry her.

Stella quietly turned in their patrol keys and walked Judy out into the lobby of the ZPD.

"Hey Judy, how are you doing girl," Clawhauser called out to her. Judy ignored him and kept walking.

"What's wrong," whispered Clawhauser to Stella.

"Oh, I think she is just missing her friend that's all," replied Stella.

"Very true, you know before you came here those two were inseparable. They went everywhere together! Maybe she just needs a distraction to get her back on her feet."

"You think," Stella whispered back. Judy could hear Stella's dainty feet pitter-pattering on the floor as she rushed to catch up to her.

"Say honey, I know you aren't feelin too good, but I have a preposition for ya," she said linking arms with her.

Judy sighed with irritation. "Listen, Stella, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but really I am fine," Judy replied looking up at her new friend and patting her on the paw in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. She forced herself to smile.

Stella didn't look convinced. "Well now you seem to be operating under the assumption, that I am giving you the option to say no. Why don't you come over to my place tonight! It's my roommate's birthday celebration and I am just havin a few friends of ours over to cut cake and play a few games. I would love it if you could join us."

Stella squeezed Judy's arm and grabbed her by the shoulders. Judy looked at those big blue eyes of hers.

"Stella, I really don't think today is— "

"Judy, what you need is good friends, good food, and a distraction away from all this doom and gloom," interrupted Stella, "now you are going to get your little cotton tail home find yourself a nice dress and come over to my apartment at 7:00."

Judy frowned. "Stella, I don't think I even have a dress here in Zootopia."

Stella looked as if Judy had just told her, her birthday had come early. "Well, we can fix that, can't we?"

Several hours and multiple trips to different stores later, Judy was walking up the street to a nice apartment building in Savannah Central. It was several stories tall and looked brand new with neat little balconies lining every floor

"I need to get myself a roommate," she said to herself as she looked up in awe at the tall and shiny building.

She took the elevator to the ninth floor. Judy stared at her reflection in the elevator walls. A sad looking bunny wearing a sky-blue sundress with a cream-colored purse draped over one shoulder stared back at her. She smoothed down her dress in the front. What am I doing? I should just leave, I am in no mood to socialize. Besides I should keep my phone on me in case Nick should call. The elevator doors dinged open. Judy hesitated at the door her finger poised over the first-floor button.

"Go on in, you deserve it after the week you've had," said a little voice inside her head which sounded a lot like her mother's.

The elevator doors began to close again. Judy slipped out before they did. She was in a long hallway lined with doors. Some of the doors had welcome mats in front of them. At the very end of the floor there was a door that was decorated with a welcome mat, two flower pots with large white magnolias, and a wreath that said, "Home is Where the Heart Is".

Just a guess, but this must be the place, chuckled Judy as she knocked on the door. No one answered, but she did hear a very loud laugh that sounded faintly familiar. She knocked again, no answer. Judy sighed, well she didn't have to go in, she could go home, curl up on the couch and watch Gerbil Girls. Yes, that was what she was going to do. Stella would understand tomorrow morning.

Judy turned around only to crash into something that knocked her to the floor.

"Oh! I am so sorry about that, I didn't see you there…" She looked up to see another bunny like herself. He had white fur with curious black markings on his cheeks and black tipped ears. He was wearing a black suit with no tie and a blue shirt. He was also on the floor, a bent and bedraggled present lying beside him. His grey eyes looked amusingly into her embarrassed purple ones.

Judy was suddenly aware that she was sprawled on the floor while wearing a dress. She quickly gathered her legs underneath herself and smoothed down the skirt, blushing as she did so.

"Oh Judy, he is handsome isn't he," commented her mother's voice in her head. Oh geez….

"It's alright, I shouldn't have come up so close behind you," he said coolly as he picked himself up and offered her a paw. Judy couldn't help, but blush with embarrassment as she took his extended paw.

I wonder if this is Stella's friend that she was talking about, she thought as she stood up to her full height. She was right, he was very tall for a rabbit.

"It looked like you were just about to go in, so I made the rookie mistake to just follow in after you," he continued bending down to pick up the smashed present.

Judy stared at the package. "Oh, I am so sorry about that," she stammered pointing at the package and covering her mouth with her other paw.

"Heh, it's quite alright. Nothing breakable in there and honestly the wrapping pretty much looked like this already. I am a terrible wrapper." The tall rabbit placed a paw inside his pocket and looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "You are Judy Hopps, aren't you?"

Judy started at the mention of her name. "Yes…how do you know my name?"

"Stel, raves about you, every chance she gets. On her first day on the force, she sent us all a group text about how she was partnered up with the best cop out there. I am pretty sure she is your biggest fan."

Judy laughed awkwardly one paw rubbing the back of her neck. Now she felt really guilty for not wanting to come to Stella's get together. No point in leaving now, she thought.

"Well, I am definitely a fan of hers, she has been real great ever since my regular partner needed to go on a special mission for the ZPD," she replied.

"Yeah, she mentioned that he was a childhood friend of hers, and coincidentally the first fox police officer. I am surprised that you were partnered up with him."

Red alert. "And why would you be surprised," she demanded, "are foxes and bunnies not allowed to work together let alone be best friends?" Judy didn't realize it, but she was standing on her tiptoes as she said this.

"Hey easy, easy," replied the rabbit holding up his paws defensively, "I didn't mean it in a bad way. I actually admire you for that."

Judy immediately deflated as she heard this. "You admire me?"

"I mean come on you are the first bunny cop, that is a huge accomplishment for us rabbits, especially for those of us who want to be more than farmers." He said the word 'farmers' like it was some sort of disgusting bug that had crawled out from a drainpipe. "And the fact that you are partners with a predator, even more amazing. I wish more animals were as open minded as you."

Judy's eyes glowed with pride at his words. This was definitely a first. Back in Bunnyburrow outside of her family, most other bunnies thought she was crazy and were just waiting to read her obituary in the newspaper. She smiled warmly up at him.

"Find out his name," screamed her mother's voice in her head. Judy was just about to ask when the door to the apartment flew open. Stella was standing in the doorway looking amazing in a red dress that accentuated her curves.

"Jack, Judy I was beginning to worry about y'all. Come on in."

Jack, huh.

Stella grabbed Judy's hand and led her inside. Jack followed behind. Her apartment was very spacious it opened up immediately into a very homey looking kitchen with a spacious living room just beyond the dining area. There was a large open window to Judy's right that opened up into a balcony. Stella had decorated the apartment with balloons and a banner that read Happy Birthday. There was a huge cake in the middle of the dining room table with candles already set in it. There were a few other animals inside the apartment all mingling together while holding drinks.

"Melanie, this is my partner Judy," said Stella directing her toward a badger in a yellow dress, "Judy, this is the birthday girl and my best friend."

"Happy Birthday, it's a pleasure to meet you," Judy said shaking the badger's paw.

"The pleasure is all mine," Melanie replied sweetly. She had a very quiet and high pitched voice for a badger.

"Oh," Judy pulled a small envelope from her purse, "here you go it's not much…Stella said you like Starbucks."

Melanie took the envelope gratefully. "Oh, thank you! You really didn't need to bother. Stella is too good to me she always makes such a big fuss on my birthday."

"Happy birthday Melanie," said Jack walking past Judy and giving Melanie his present.

"Oh, thank you Jack. You are too sweet," she said giving him a hug. "Please come on in and enjoy yourselves."

Melanie led them into the living room where a koala and raccoon gestured over to Jack to join them in their game of cards. Jack took off his suit jacket before he sat down to join his friends.

"Judy," whispered Stella beside her, "what do you think of our little friend Jack, huh? Don't you think him a handsome jackrabbit?"

"He seems very…nice," Judy admitted watching him with his friends. Jack was laughing and glanced over in her direction. Judy blushed and looked away staring down at her paws on her lap.

Stella and Melanie both giggled beside her. "I am sorry if we are being a bit to abrupt, Judy, you see Stella and I have both known Jack for a long time, and feel like it's time that he got himself out there and you know found himself someone. Stella thought that someone could be you." Melanie smiled angelically at her.

Judy blushed. "Look, it's not that I am not interested, it's just that I have a lot on my mind right now. I have goals in place that I want to reach you know?"

"Goals?"

To Judy's horror, Jack had joined them on the couch. Sweet cheese and crackers how long had he been listening!

"Of...of course! It's always good to have them."

"Oh, I totally agree, it's just that some mammals would think that you have already reached a goal, you know become the first rabbit officer," he replied.

"Well yeah, but I mean it's never good to settle," Judy answered back her voice brimming with emotion, "I mean it's always good to keep your eyes moving upwards and being willing to challenge yourself."

Melanie and Stella looked back and forth between the two rabbits with knowing smiles. Jack smiled slowly at Judy's answer.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Officer Hopps."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nick was tired of being wet, cold and smelling of fish. He never was a huge fish eater, but he certainly wasn't going turn into one now. For the last two weeks, he had learned all there was he needed to know about fish. Sometimes they needed to be gutted and deboned right there on the ship for the crew's meals. Ugh. He definitely preferred to keep how that wonderful smelling fish fillet on his plate had gotten there a mystery.

"Um, Officer Wilde, are you ready?" Mateo the ocelot had become a good friend to Nick during the two weeks that he was on board the _Mackeral_. He knew his way around the ship, including the best places to receive the best cell phone reception.

"Yeah, right behind you, buddy," Nick responded getting out of his hammock and grabbing a coat.

Mateo led him to the highest point on the ship, the crow's nest. This was where Mateo sometimes went himself to get some alone time. All you had to go was climb this narrow ladder to get to this small little ledge where the ship's antenna and satellite were hooked up to. It also worked to get better cell phone service. Nick hadn't heard from Judy in a couple of days, and he was pretty sure it was due to bad reception. Wolfard had caught him trying to sneak into the captain's quarters to use the satellite phone again.

"Officer Wilde, this phone is to be used as a means to connect to the coast guard, Chief Bogo or the Mayor," Wolfard had growled holding Nick up by the neck of his shirt so that the fox was eye level with him. "It is NOT to be used as a way to contact your girlfriend, so I suggest you take your flirting elsewhere!"

Okay, was I missing something here. First Clawhauser, now Wolfard? What was it with everyone thinking that Carrots and I had a thing going on! Honestly this just goes to show that a male and a female can't just be friends…that is at least in the eyes of society…because OBVIOUSLY, Carrots and I are just friends, nothing more.

Nick shook these thoughts away as he followed the young ocelot up the ladder. This was why he had to go to extreme measures so he could stay in contact with his FRIEND. They got up to the ledge, plopped themselves down by each other and immediately took out their cell phones. Down below the boat swayed and swished in the sea. It didn't even bother Nick anymore. Mateo was prone to seasickness and therefore had to take medication to keep himself from throwing up. The little bottle was never too far away from Mateo.

Alright, time to check to see if Hopps sent me any messages. He clicked on his text messages icon; yep sure enough there were about 10 missed messages starting back from about a week ago.

"Nick, I wish you would give me a little more credit. I just get worried about you and your safety, I mean I don't even know if Wolfard has got your back!"

Well he doesn't, pretty sure if it came down to it he would cast me overboard the first chance he gets Nick thought sarcastically.

"I just hate being stuck back here without any ability to help you know."

Don't worry Carrots you aren't missing much. I am sure you could get the same experience walking down to the Tundra Town fish market on a cold and rainy day.

"So, I guess I must be looking a little down, because Stella invited me to this get together for her roommate. I am not sure if I should go. I have been in such a bad mood all day, but she already made the effort to take me shopping and to go get this nice dress, so I guess I should make the effort as well."

Carrots in a dress, huh, I would pay good money to see that. Um that is ugh…what is wrong with me?! Nick blushed as he continued to read his missed text messages. Looking over at Mateo quickly to make sure the ocelot was sneaking at peak at his messages. The kid was too busy playing the latest cell phone game, figures.

"OMG Nick I had the best time! It was so much fun! Stella's friends are so nice. We played this great ice breaker game and oh it was so fun! I can't wait for you to get back, because I think you would like them all very much. Also, I think I should look into getting a roommate, Stella's apartment is really nice!"

Why do you think I am stuck with Finnick. Rent doesn't come cheap. Well it sounds like Stella knew what she was doing to cheer that cute little bunny up. The rest of the messages were spread out over several days. Most of them coming at night after Judy's shift was over.

"Nick, I know you can't text back, but somehow I feel like my day isn't complete without at least telling you how my day has been. So, we ran into Raymond and Kevin, Mr. Big's henchmen, today. It was super awkward, because I am sure they recognized me. They were both involved in a predator brawl outside of the Halibut's restaurant. We were called in as backup for crowd control. It got pretty bad two predators were sent to the hospital for broken fingers and paws. Things are getting bad over here too. Please be careful and make our precinct proud! I miss you."

Nick's ears fell as he read back those last three words. I miss you too, Carrots he admitted to himself. A lot more than I would think. He smiled as he pictured Judy saying those words to him. His stomach made a little flip-flop…hmm must be close to dinner time? He scrolled down to the next group of messages.

"Nick! OMG I had such a great day today. Stella invited me to go down to the beach with her group of friends. It was a beautiful day the weather was perfect. We ended up playing a pretty competitive game of beach volleyball. Stella and Jack were on my team. We beat the others pretty badly, but they were all pretty good sports about it, except for Cooper. Hey! You know what you may actually know Cooper, he was that rowdy raccoon that you had to stop at that restaurant that one night. You know the night before the mission? Small world huh?"

Nick couldn't help feeling a little jealous upon reading this text. He would have loved to have gone to the beach with Judy. It was actually his plan for her birthday that was coming up in a few weeks. She had never gone before. Way to steal my thunder there, Stella he thought annoyed. This mission stinks, we better catch the culprit tonight, I am missing out on some pretty important stuff here. The following message was from the next day.

"Nick, I have a confession to make remember how you and I have been wanting to go see Star Wars the Furce Awakens…"

Carrots, you didn't!

"Well I told my new friends that I was saving to see that movie with a certain dumb fox. So, we ended up watching Giraffic World instead. Lots of fun, there were a few times where I jumped. One time I even bumped my soda and a bit landed on Jack's lap. I was mortified, but he was so nice about it even though the rest of the guys joked that he was so scared he wet his pants for the rest of the night. I guess sometimes I really can be a dumb bunny, huh?"

Nick frowned. Okay that was twice that she has mentioned this Jack guy. Wonder who he is. Playing beach volleyball with Judy and now movies? That sense of jealousy began to grow in Nick. Well at least she stayed a loyal friend to me. Nick made a mental note to go catch the first showing of Star Wars once he got back with Judy. He continued to scroll through the last few messages.

"Nick, I can't wait for you to come home. These guys are so great. It's such a distraction from what is going on in the city. Today Koalski, his real name is Wallace, but he hates that name so everyone just calls him by his last name, invited us all to his family's on Outback Island. I am proud to say I have officially been on a boat now. Well it was a ferry, but you know it still counts. It is so cool over there. His home is high up some stilts almost like a tree house! We had so much fun before I knew it, it was very late. No worries, Jack was kind enough to walk me back to my apartment. You guys should really meet. I think you would really get along great. Well I am exhausted good night! Be careful and stay safe."

Nick's tail bristled again. Okay now seriously, who was this Jack. Beach, movies, and now walking back to the apartment. He was clearly interested in Judy, whoever this guy was. Yeah, I am interested in meeting him too, alright.

"Nick, I am really starting to worry that I haven't heard from you. I know that you must have terrible cell phone reception out there, but if you can read this please send me a quick message so that way I know you are okay. Stella says that I am worrying too much, because if something were to have happened Chief Bogo would have said something by now. I guess she is right. Still it would make me feel tons better to hear from you."

Nick smiled as he thought about Judy laying in bed, worrying about him. It was comforting to know that he had a good friend who cared so much for him.

"Oh, I gotta go, Jack and the others are here. We are trying out this new ice cream place that just opened up. I will let you know if it's any good. Supposedly they make all sorts of flavors. Who knows they may even have blueberry! Stay safe my friend. Miss you."

"Who is Jack," Nick exclaimed throwing his paws up in the air in aggravation.

"Whoa, what's your deal Officer Wilde," questioned Mateo as he scooted a little further away from the agitated fox.

Nick had been so wrapped up in his text messages that he had quite forgotten where he was.

"Never mind, kid," he grumbled as he went to text Judy back.

"Glad to hear that you are doing well, Carrots. Everything is the same here. Though I think tonight the tide is going to turn, pun totally intended. The captain is taking us to the area where they have been hit the most, which is close to this island chain that has been blocked off by the government for some unknown reason. Suspicious? I should think so, Hopps! We think that that may be the pirate's main base of operation. We hope that they will take the bait and we will be able to catch at least one of the pirates. Wish me luck. Oh and by the way who is Jack?"

Nick sighed looking down at his unsent message. He wasn't sure if it was too obvious. Obvious of what exactly? All he was doing was looking out for the naïve country bunny, who was too cute for her own good…

"Don't send it."

Nick jumped in surprise. He turned around annoyingly at Mateo who has been reading over his shoulder.

"She will totally think you are being jealous and then you will open yourself up to a whole world of hurt. Trust me bro, I know." The ocelot nodded in what he probably believed was in a very wise manner.

"Thanks… _bro_! I think I got it. Do you mind?"

Mateo shrugged and started to head back down the ladder. Nick waited till he had gone down a few rungs. He looked back at his cell phone and decided to delete the last question about Jack. Instead he wrote "miss you too Hopps". He sent it wondering if she would be able to send anything back to him. It was late and she might already be in bed. To his delight his phone beeped a message received. He quickly tapped to see if it was from Judy.

"NO! Seriously! Message undeliverable!"

Of course. Nick heaved a heavy sigh and pocketed his phone. He missed his partner too. He hated the fact that in the two weeks he had been gone, she had gone out and done two things that he had planned to take her on. He hated Stella for being so darn hospitable and reaching out to Judy in her loneliness. He hated Judy's mom for placing the thought in Judy's mind that she needed to find new friends other than himself. But most of all he hated this Jack fellow, whoever he was for…for…trying to steal HIS place as Judy's friend…her male friend…oh no…

Nick placed his cheeks in his paws as he looked out at the rapidly fogging sea around him. His big green eyes wide as something dawned on him.

"Clawhauser, could you possibly be right? Could I possibly see Carrots as something…" He couldn't even bring himself to finish the sentence. It wasn't like Nick had never dated, okay. He had been quite the little charmer back in his day, and even now every so often wooed a faint vixen's heart just for the fun of it, but he had never done so because he actually was interested. He did it because he could and it gave him confidence. Also, his mom was always going on about grandchildren… But Hopps?

"Nope! You are just letting other animal's imaginations get to you, Wilde," he said to himself as he smoothed down his uniform and chuckled nervously. "You are tired of being on this stupid boat and just jealous that you can't be home doing fun things with your friend. Perfectly normal! Nothing to worry about here. All the more reason not to mess up tonight."

"WILDE!"

Nick almost fell off the ledge this time at the sound of Wolfard's angry voice coming from far below on deck.

"Ay ay sir?"

"What are you doing up there? It's time to get ready for the operation. We are nearly there! Stop wasting the tax payers' dollars and get your red tail down here this instant!"

"Ugh, please if things go wrong tonight, can Wolfnerd be tranqed so he can be in a coma until we make it back to Zootopia," Nick grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes. He got up to make his way back down the ladder, when a large shadow passed by the boat startling him.

The _Mackeral_ was sliding in and out of some large jagged rocks that seemed to dwarf the fishing boat. The fog had thickened and the large crags created eerie shadows in the darkness. Despite its fog light on, Nick had no idea how the Captain was able to navigate them safely through the maze of spiky formations. He made his way down the ladder carefully and once he was on the deck he joined the rest of the crew who had all come up to watch as the rocks seem to appear out of nowhere in the fog.

"Where are we," Nick asked Mateo who was standing nearby holding a flashlight.

"The Captain calls this area The Teeth, it's just a bunch of rocks that are gathered together. Down below there are lots of reefs and fish that gather here, that's why we come sometimes. Only problem is we can't go further east than here, because of the boundaries the government has placed."

"Yeah, what is with that? Why all the secrecy are those islands owned by the government?"

"They have been deemed dangerous, too dangerous for any mammal without government permission to step on them," growled Wolfard coming up behind Nick, causing him to startle a bit again.

Ugh, how I HATE this guy, Nick thought glaring up at the wolf's smirking face.

"But has anyone ever asked why though," Nick asked looking out eastward.

"I am sure the question has been asked," Wolfard replied walking over to the side of boat with his paws behind his back, "all I know is that information is classified."

All the animals continued to watch the eerie rocks, until the captain reached the spot where they were to drop anchor. They were surrounded by the large rocks, as if they were sitting inside the mouth of a large aquatic beast. They would be working with the Zootopia Coast Guard who would be anchored out a little distance from where they were at, the only way out. The Captain reassured them, that they had been hit before, using the rocks as shelter from the high winds that sometimes plagued these waters, and the pirates always fled in the same direction.

"They must use small speed boats that they must anchor down just outside the boundary of The Teeth, then they swim the distance between our boat and theirs. If we manage to capture one and the others flee, the coast guard should be able to apprehend the others before they reach their boat." Captain Terrence scratched his large belly as he said this to the crew and the two officers below deck a few minutes later.

"The Captain and I have formulated a plan that will allow us to catch these pirates off hand and hopefully will lead to the capture of at least one if not all of the members of the raiding party," said Wolfard looking at the other animals around him.

Nick shuffled his feet a bit. He was starting to get nervous about the plan tonight. Wish Carrots were here he thought. She always gave Nick the boost of confidence he needed.

"According to the Captain, what normally happens first is that the lights are first disconnected and the video cameras are turned off. I am placing two crew members just outside of the control room so you can watch and wait to see if there is any way you can capture whoever is charged with turning off video and lights. Meanwhile I need our smallest mammals lying in wait inside the fish lockers."

Wolfard looked up at Nick and Mateo, who looked like he was about to pee his pants.

"I am counting on you two doing nothing else, but capturing video footage of the pirates. Your task is to lay low and keep yourselves out of sight. I will be in your ear letting you know when it is that these pirates will be coming your way. When they are on their way out, Wilde, I expect you to signal me by tapping your microphone three times. The rest of the crew and I will be waiting ready to take them down before they are able to get out of the locker. Myself and Miguel will be wearing the only two tranq proof vests that we have. Wilde, I want you and Mateo to be wearing yours and your extra vest. With any luck, we will be able to capture these pirates in a few hours. Any questions."

"Yeah! I have a question." Nick raised his paw in the air as if he was still in school.

Wolfard sighed and begrudgingly answered, "Yes, Fox."

"Exactly how long are we," he indicated to Mateo who was now visibly shaking, "supposed to be stuffed in super cold freezer?"

"Don't worry Officer Wilde, I am sure that the pirates will take the bait," said Captain Terrence

"You and Mateo will not be in there all night."

"As reassuring as that is, Captain," Nick replied sarcastically, "it doesn't answer my question."

Wolfard walked over to Nick and bent down to meet his eyes. "However long it takes for you to do your job." He growled.

"Okay, Wolfard I am just worried about the kid here…he didn't sign up for this. I can do this on my own, don't need Mateo's backup in this plan. I can manage by myself."

Nick looked down the wolf's muzzle with what he hoped was an intimidating stare. It worked because the wolf relented and it was deemed that Mateo would be placed up high on the crow's nest, out of harm's way and tasked to inform the rest of the crew of the pirates' whereabouts. Mateo heaved a huge sigh of relief and gave Nick a grateful nod. Nick smiled, it was the least he could do for the poor kid.

"Good luck, gentlemals." Wolfard dismissed the crew with these final words.

It was around midnight when the _Mackeral_ went into position. The lights were all turned off, minus those below deck. Two crew members were positioned close to the command center, Wolfard and Miguel, the large jaguar, were hiding in the washroom close to the entrance of the fish locker, Mateo was perched above them on the ledge, and Nick was alone in the freezing cold of the fish locker.

The hour hand on the captain's clock in the galley would make another whole turn before any real activity happened aboard the boat. At 1 am sharp, someone turned the lights and video cameras off in the command center. The two awaiting crew members kept their eyes peeled for movement down the hallway, but there was nothing. Confused they tapped a signal over to Wolfard. Wolfard then relayed the message to Nick, who was hiding behind a few crates on a shelf in the fish locker.

"Alright Wilde this is it, get your camera ready," whispered Wolfard's voice in his ear.

Nick's ears were ready, his powerful nose twitching, ready to catch even the faintest smell. He began to pant a bit despite himself. I really wish Judy was here, he thought again for what seemed like the fifteenth time today. He waited for what seemed eternity, his legs growing number after staying in the position for such a long time. His breathing made little wisps of clouds come up in front of him in the cold. His fur kept him from freezing, but it was still pretty cold. His ears caught the sounds of someone heavy attempting to take soft footsteps in the hallway. A sound by the locker entrance caused him to duck down behind the crates the slightest. He turned on his tiny ZPD camera and placed it right between two crates hoping against hopes that it wouldn't be noticeable to the pirates there. His ears picked up a snapping sound from above, like someone had cut open the lock to the fish locker.

Come on Wilde you can do this he thought to himself. Let's just hope that whoever these animals are they can't smell fear.

The locker door opened quietly. Nick realized that the lights up on the hallway had been turned off, so everything was still pitch black, but not for Nick's nocturnal eyes. His powerful nose picked up a strange scent in the air it was like something he had never smelled before. There was a slight hesitation before whatever it was that opened the locker door came in. Nick heard a whisper.

"Something doesn't seem right here, mate," rumbled a deep voice that sounded like it belonged to a large animal.

"What do you mean, Cronos?" The second voice was not so deep and it sounded like it belonged to a smaller animal.

"Don't you smell that? It smells like fur…"

Nick flinched when he heard those words. He can STILL smell me, amongst all this fish? He grabbed a bit of what looked like clams and mussels from a nearby crate and rubbed them down his tail, arms, and head hoping to mask his foxy musk. The overpower stench of seafood was too much for his own nose, that he had to pinch it. He listened again for Cronos to say something.

"I don't smell anything. Mammals do molt or rather shed you know, maybe one of them on board is going through that time of the year." The second voice also sounded young, optimistic, and naïve.

"Humph, let's go," rumbled Cronos.

Nick didn't exactly have a theory about who these pirates were, but NOTHING would have prepared him for what came walking into the fish locker at that very moment. It was like something that had just popped out of his history books from when he was at school or his favorite television series as a kid. It was all there. The dark, scaly skin. The beady eyes perched on top of that enormous mouth with rows up on rows of sharp pointy teeth. The spikes that began at the base of his neck and ran all the way down his massive body and trunk of a tail. The large claws on both feet and hands. Nick gulped as he beheld two large crocodiles standing below his perch on the shelf.

It took about a minute of watching the two reptiles gathering the latest catch of halibut into large bags that they had brought with them, for Nick to somehow gather his thoughts together and comprehend what he was seeing before him.

"No way, there is absolutely no way! I thought these guys were extinct! Didn't some plague kill them off back in the Middle Ages or something? What on earth are they doing here now… what the HELL am I doing here now! They are going to KILL ME!"

Nick began to panic, if that large one had been able to smell him at the top of the stairs, that meant he was trapped until they finished their business and left. The slightest movement might give his position away, then then what? Alright Wilde, FOCUS remember your job is to observe and record the smell of fish is overpowering now that they are moving things around. You can move, just slightly. He adjusted the camera ever so slightly so that it could catch a better angle of the two crocodiles. Now that he had managed to calm down from the first initial shock, Nick began to observe them with great interest and wonder.

There was a pretty large difference in their sizes, now that he was getting a second look at them. Cronos stood at about 8 feet high. He was bare chested save for a tranquilizer holster that wrapped around his massive chest. Below he looked like he wore regular shorts, that were still dripping wet from their swim. The smaller crocodile reached up to Crono's shoulders. He had on a black t-shirt and around his waist was a belt equipped with tranquilizers and other pockets. His shorts were also black and soaked from the swim as well.

A bit of static at his ear, reminded Nick that he was to tell Wolfard about the pirates. He raised his finger to tap it, but suddenly stopped as the smaller reptile started up a conversation.

"A bit lucky, wouldn't you say mate? The whole bloomin boat seems empty."

Cronos didn't respond, but only shot his partner a scowl that Nick for sure meant 'shut up'.

Nick reached over to tap on his microphone.

"Wilde, was that you? Are they there?" Wolfard's voice came into his ear piece loud and clear. Nick looked down and realized he had been laying on the volume buttons of his headset. Oh shi—

"Someone is here," cried Cronos looking around searching for the source of the voice. Nick froze not sure what to do. He was trapped.

"Let's get out of here," replied his partner fearfully tying up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Not till I find the little spy. We can't have any eye witnesses."

Nick began to pray. Cronos started turning over bags and crates inside the locker, sometimes even using his trunk sized tail to do it. His partner kept glancing at the open door, his tranquilizer gun raised and ready. One hit from one of those and I may be out longer than three days! I am smaller than an ocelot!

"Come out little, furball," growled Cronos looking around. He glanced up at exactly where Nick was hiding. "What is that red little light…crikey, they got a camera! Come here!"

Nick grabbed the small camera and ran, which was no small feat as his legs were still asleep from laying there for so long. Cronos gave out this horrifying hissing sound as he used his tail to swing aside the crates to get to Nick. Nick reached the edge of the shelf and jumped on top of a pile of stinking fish. The ramp to get out of the fish locker was just inches away. He got up still stumbling when his way was blocked by the smaller croc standing in front of him, tranquilizer gun pointed at his head.

"Hand over the camera, Wolf and no one needs to get hurt," he said holding out a large clawed hand.

Nick wasn't sure what to do, so he did what he knew best…talk. "Okay…okay," he said nervously trying to slide his way around the massive reptile. "First off I am a fox, second I don't have the camera… he does," he said pointing behind Felix and Cronos. It worked both reptiles turned in the direction he was pointing giving Nick enough time to slip around them and make his way out of the fish locker.

"Hey!" He heard that terrible hissing sound again as he just managed to get out of the fish locker. Just as Felix was coming up behind him, Nick slammed the heavy door down on his head causing Felix to tumble backward into Cronos and the large pile of fish. Nick looked at the lock, it was broken, he tied the chain around the handle and a nearby pipe hoping this would buy him sometime at least until backup arrived.

Speaking of which he hadn't heard from Wolfard at all. The hallway was still dark, where the heck was Wolfard and the others. Taking a split second to decide where to go he headed for the deck of the ship. He could hear the two crocodiles banging on the iron door. That won't hold them for long, especially if Cronos… there was a loud banging sound behind him. Yep, not long at all. He glanced behind his shoulder to see how far they were, before he tripped over some invisible object on the floor. He crashed onto the floor camera still in his paws.

As he lay there, he realized he was not alone a small tiny crocodile with really weird eyes appeared out of thin air beside him and was now trying to get the camera from his hands. Wait no not crocodile, what were those things called lizards?

"I will take that, Red," cackled the little lizard as he managed to pry the camera from Nick's fingers. "Aha! I got it don't worry guys, I got it!"

"Why you! Come here!" Nick quickly got up and chased after the tiny lizard. It again disappeared into the night, Nick skidded to a halt looking around for it. The two crocodiles were almost upon Nick now. Nick decided to forget the camera and just head above deck.

"Wolfard, Wolfard! Anybody do you read me!"

Once he got above deck he stopped shocked at the sight that met his eyes. Every single member of the crew lay there face down a little blow dart sticking out between their fur.

No, now what? Hide, Nick, hide! He decided to go up the first place that they wouldn't think to look for him. He headed in the direction of the satellite where only a few hours ago he had been checking his messages, it felt like ages now. The fog was thick and he hoped it would be able to hide him from the reptiles.

"Where are you, FOX!"

Nick looked back. He had reached the roof above where the captain controlled the ship. He pressed himself down against the steel of the roof, trying his best to remain hidden.

Cronos and Felix had both arrived on deck. They were pleased to see the bodies of the unconscious animals around them. The tiny lizard-thing appeared out of thin air on Felix's shoulder. He pulled out from a backpack on his back Nick's camera.

"Here ya go boss! Told ya, I got them all!" He puffed out his little chest proudly.

"Good work, Chester, good work," replied Cronos gruffly. He took the camera from Chester and using only his hands crushed it into bits.

Nick's ears drooped. He had failed.

"Now then, let's get the rest of the catch and head back," Cronos said turning to walk down below deck again.

"What about the fox, mate?" Felix had his tranquilizer gun ready.

"Leave him, besides someone will need to sail these mammals back to their land. You stand guard while I go get the stuff. I doubt he will try anything, but then again mammals are so unpredictable."

He headed back below deck. Felix didn't seem satisfied enough in just leaving the search for Nick alone.

"Come on Chester, let's see if we can spot where our clever fox is hiding," he said to the lizard on his shoulder.

"Yes, sir," replied the tiny critter. His eyes started moving around independently of one another in various directions. It sent a chill down Nick's spine. Creepy. They started going down towards the opposite side of the ship, Chester still perched on Felix's shoulder.

"Psst, Officer Wilde!"

Nick looked up to find Mateo's very scared looking face looking down on him from the crow's nest. He gestured for him to come up and join him. Nick did his heard beating so fast the entire time he was on that ladder. It didn't seem to calm down till he reached the ledge and laid down next to the ocelot, panting. Mateo placed a finger to his lips as he continued to watch the reptiles down below.

Cronos heaved up about four heavy bags of fish. He ordered Felix to take two and looking round one last time at the unconscious animals laying on deck, they both jumped overboard. From where they were Nick and Mateo watched the two crocs swim swiftly through the ocean, their long tails rhythmically creating ripples as they went. Nick couldn't see him, but he was sure that Chester was perched on Felix's back.

It was a long time before either ocelot or fox would say anything to each other. They shivered in the cold of the night not saying a word, both too shocked to speak. Both couldn't believe what they had seen and both didn't know how they were going to make it back home. Just when they thought it was safe to come down from their hiding place, a loud whirring sound came from overhead. Nick and Mateo both were surprised to find a helicopter with a searchlight coming towards them. They raised their arms signaling the helicopter. As it drew near, the wind from its blades, was strong enough to almost make them fall, but they both held on.

On the side of the helicopter, Nick was expecting to see the sigil for the Zootopian Coast Guard, instead a very official ZIA was placed on the side. When the helicopter hovered right above them the side door opened and a female jaguar stuck her head out from the helicopter holding a megaphone.

"Officer Nicholas Wilde and Mateo Catinez, you are to come with me. You are now under the protection of the ZIA."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Every day at the ZPD Judy Hopps would badger Bogo for information about Nick's team.

"Sir, I am not asking for any other team's information, just Nick's. Please sir, I need to know that he is okay."

The cape buffalo always seemed to have some gruff disinterested response to her questions, but today Judy caught what looked like sympathy in his small brown eyes. It was quickly gone and replaced with his nonchalant-leave-me-alone-Hopps-I-am-very-busy-and-important expression that he normally had.

"Don't worry a thing, sugar cube," Stella had reassured her that afternoon, after the chief had walked away. "I betcha the minute something bad happens to Nicky's ship, you will be the first to know. I am sure Chief Bogo is not as hard as he wants people to think him to be.

Judy had gone ahead and told Stella a little about Nick's secret mission. Her moping and worry for Nick had gotten to a point that it was very difficult to hide her emotions from her partner anymore. Despite appearances, Stella was a smart cookie and had already picked up on a thing or two about the mission on her own already. She understood why Judy was so worried about Nick and offered words of comfort to her friend whenever she could. Plus, she was always quick on being able to supply Judy with ready distractions to keep her mind off of the mission. It was Stella who had suggested the beach and the movie. She liked Judy and thought she was a good fit for her group of friends, maybe even a good fit for one in particular…

"Say Judy, Melanie and the gang wanted to go check out this new ice cream place that they just opened up in Tundra Town. Would you care to join us?"

Judy's ears perked up immediately. "Yes, that sounds like fun. What time?"

"Well you know, the guys have their new client at the firm, so I am not sure how much paperwork they are drowning in, but I will be sure to text you as soon as I have a better idea."

Stella and Judy hugged each other good bye and headed home in separate directions. Judy was happy with her new-found friendships. Melanie was so sweet and giving, she always had a compliment on the tip of her tongue, it was hard to believe that she worked for a corporate law firm, and was in fact a topnotch attorney. Cooper was brash, loud and a bit over-the-top, but he was also loyal to his friends. His obvious crush on Stella was hilarious to watch. Koalski was the stereotypical smart animal who at times seemed to speak in a language that only he understood, and as a result was the constant butt of Cooper's jokes. Then there was Jack…

Judy smiled and flushed a little thinking about Jack. Oh Jack, where to begin with Jack. He was quickly turning from Stella's friend to Judy's crush. Which was no small feat, as Judy hadn't had a crush on anyone since high school. He was tall and handsome, had stunning gray eyes that looked like they could look into your soul, and above all he was ambitious. This was probably the biggest attraction for Judy. Jack was very similar to her. He did not like living by the status quo. He wanted to prove rabbits could do more than that. As Judy stepped on the subway, she recalled her conversation with him on that first day they had met.

"Goals?" He had asked.

"Of...of course! It's always good to have them," Judy had responded.

"Oh, I totally agree, it's just that some mammals would think that you have already reached a goal, you know becoming the first rabbit officer," he had replied.

"Well yeah, but I mean it's never good to settle," Judy had answered back her voice brimming with emotion, "I mean it's always good to keep your eyes moving upwards and being willing to challenge yourself."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Officer Hopps."

He had smiled at her and invited her out to the balcony. Judy had glanced nervously back at Melanie and Stella who had conveniently made themselves scarce, and joined him reluctantly. Not sure where this was going, but based off of her previous conversation with the badger and skunk, Judy had made the misconception that Jack was going to ask her out.

When they had reached the balcony, poor nervous Judy had decided to make the first move before, ironically, any more awkwardness occurred. What followed was the most embarrassing moment in Judy's life.

"Look, Jack, you seem like a nice guy and all, but I don't want you to get any misconceptions about why I am here," she had begun looking down at the lights of Zootopia.

Jack who had been looking out into the city as well, had turned so that he was leaning up against the balcony and facing her. His white fur had shone in the night, it was enough to make Judy even more uneasy. He had politely waited for her to continue.

"I…I know that Melanie and Stella are looking for you to find a mate, and you know that's great there is nothing wrong with that, but I just want to spare you any embarrassment, because I am not there yet and after all we just met and…" Judy had stopped herself once she saw Jack's expression.

He had a look of complete shock, blushing red under his white fur and striped cheeks. His paws were still inside his pockets, which he took one out to awkwardly rub the back of his neck. Judy had frozen in fear, had she just misread the whole situation and now made it even MORE awkward for herself. Inadvertently, she had grabbed both her ears in embarrassment, almost as if she had been trying to hide her face with them.

"Oh no, OH! I am so sorry! I totally misread you, you were not going to ask me out, were you? I mean, why would you?" She had laughed awkwardly and wished so hard she could have teleported out of there.

"Erm, well no that was not my intention at all," Jack had begun looking at everything, but Judy. He had then realized how the phrase had come out and immediately stepped forward towards Judy with his paws out saying, "Not that I am saying that I wouldn't want to. I mean you are a nice… attractive young rabbit and well I mean I can see why you would think that…but…erm…that was not why I asked you out here." He quickly looked away from her.

"You are nice though," he had finished lamely, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth in frustration. He had groaned then and had turned back out facing the city and had hung his head in embarrassment over the side of the balcony.

Judy had smiled at his awkward reply. She had still been blushing from embarrassment, but it had been reassuring to see that he had acted just as graceless as she.

"Ugh, okay," he had straightened himself up and smoothed his shirt down, "can we please start over and forget what my so-called friends may or may not be intending?" He looked over angrily at the balcony window.

Judy had turned just in time to see Stella, Melanie, Koalski, and Cooper duck for cover. Cooper had been laughing loudly to himself. Jack had rolled his eyes and shook his head, mumbling "I am going to kill them" under his breath.

"Sure, I think that would be best," Judy had responded looking up at him and giving him a small smile. Jack had then sighed and smiled back.

"Actually, I had asked you out here to talk about your family and your upbringing. I always find it fascinating when I meet another mammal who has, against all odds, gone against what is conventional for their species. And you are the first rabbit I have ever met that isn't in the farming business and gung-ho about getting married and starting a family first chance they get…. it's…it's refreshing. You and I have that in common and I would like to pick your brain and share stories, because no one else really understands the kind of pressure we rabbits have from our families." He had regained his composure then and had looked down at her almost fondly.

Judy had readily agreed to share with him her journey. They had ended up talking most of the night up on that balcony beneath the stars. When it had been time to leave, Judy's voice inside her head made one last statement, though it had rung loud and clear for her the whole way home, as she waved good bye to that tall dark and mysterious stranger.

"Oh, Judy you are in trouble."

The doors of the subway opened and Judy joined the five o' clock crowd of mammals heading home. She made it back to her apartment without any further incident, plopped on her bed and took out her phone. No messages from Nick. She heaved a big sigh. If only she could know if her friend was doing alright. It was the most frustrating thing, being apart from your best friend. Jack, Stella and everyone else were all great, but she missed Nick very much. In talking to Jack about her journey in becoming a bunny cop, the subject of her first case came up in their conversation. Judy had been so excited to share with Jack about Nick and how their relationship had blossomed into a wonderful friendship.

"Hmm, sounds like you miss him," Jack had observed.

Judy had turned away, ears drooping. "More than I ever thought I would," she had admitted and to her shame a tear had come down her cheek.

Jack had then come over and had placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder.

"I am sure it will be alright."

Judy was tired of hearing others tell her that, 'I am sure it will be alright. He is fine'. The fact of the matter was that he was in danger and she wasn't beside him to face said danger. It also didn't help that that they had no ways of communicating with each other. Wolfard was such a stickler to the rules, Judy was sure that he wouldn't allow Nick to make another phone call on the satellite phone. It wasn't like she was family, although she certainly felt like she was. Frustrated, she let out a groan, and pulled out her phone to write Nick another text message that he may or may not get.

"Nick, I am really starting to worry that I haven't heard from you. I know that you must have terrible cell phone reception out there, but if you can read this please send me a quick message so that way I know you are okay. Stella says that I am worrying too much, because if something were to have happened Chief Bogo would have said something by now. I guess she is right. Still it would make me feel tons better to hear from you."

Judy sent this message. Her phone alerted her that the message was sent, but she remained unsure of the legitimacy of it. Judy was startled out of her gloom when a knock came at the door. She quickly texted Nick back, as if he was actually going to respond, letting him know about her plans, and excitedly jumped up and opened the door.

She was greeted by Stella and Cooper, who was looking rather smart in a suit and tie. Stella had changed from her police uniform and was wearing jeans and a yellow shirt.

"Judy, what have you been doing? You haven't changed out of your uniform!"

Judy looked down at her police uniform. "Oh, sorry here just give me a minute." She closed the door and quickly changed into her jeans and favorite pink shirt. She opened the door and left with her friends a new pep in her step.

"So where is everyone else, are we meeting them at the ice cream place," Judy asked cheerfully looking around her once they had exited her apartment building.

"Yeah, Jack and Melanie will be the only ones joining us, Koalski went out on a… I mean he got stuck doing all the paperwork. Pff! Nerd!" Cooper led Stella and Judy down to the subway. It was still pretty crowded with mammals trying to get back home, so they all had to squeeze together pretty tight while standing.

"Cooper, not so close!" Stella was squeezed between the raccoon, Judy and a family of elephants who decided to get inside the same crowded subway car.

"Stel, if I could move I would, besides," he nuzzled up closer to her, "don't act like you aren't secretly loving being this close to me."

Stella humphed and turned completely so her large tail formed a barrier between her and the raccoon. Judy just stifled a laugh.

"It's called personal space… a real gentlemal would know something about giving a lady her space."

"Oh, so now I am not well-mannered! I will have you know that I got kicked out of three finishing schools!"

Stella turned around looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "What is that supposed to prove, you got kicked out."

"So! I musta picked up something!"

The subway doors slid open and all the animals got out. Stella and Cooper argued the entire way to the ice cream parlor. Their banter back and forth reminded Judy of the way she and Nick sometimes went at it. Boy, she really had Nick on the brain. When they reached the place, Judy was happy to see Melanie and Jack already seated at a table chatting away. Her stomach made a little flip flop, like it always seemed to do whenever she saw Jack nowadays, she ignored it and tried telling herself for the fifteenth time that he was just a friend and nothing more. Neither of them were interested in dating at the moment, no matter the unrelenting pressure from friends and mothers. Strictly platonic relationship…

"Hey y'all! I see you got ourselves a table, but oh my! The line is out the door! This place better be worth it." Stella gave both her friends a hug.

Judy hugged Melanie and shyly waved hello to Jack. He coolly nodded and smiled at her.

"We came straight from work so we could snag a table. There was actually a group of warthogs that were hogging the table earlier." Melanie explained sitting back down.

"HA! I see what you did there Melanie! Classic!" Cooper let out a boisterous laugh, causing several animals to look up from their desserts.

"Would you hush up?! There is no way I am believing you went to a finishing school with a laugh like that!" Stella grabbed Cooper by the ear and made him take a seat as she scolded him.

Cooper quieted, but only before winking at Stella. She rolled her eyes.

Melanie giggled before continuing, "Well Jack had to use his _persuasive_ voice to get us a table, and here we are." She looked at Jack like as if he had just settled some sort of international dispute.

"Persuasive voice, huh", Judy asked. She looked over at Jack who looked like he would never hurt a fly.

"Oh yes, he can be very persuasive if he wants to be, it's quite intimidating!" Melanie's voice made it sound like it was more delightful than intimidating.

Jack smiled and said, "It comes with the attorney territory, I suppose. Skills of the trade or so they say. I am sure no different than when you have to lay down the law, Judy."

"Well, I think so that we don't lose our spots, Stella, Cooper and I will go get the treats first and then Jack you and Judy can go next. Yes! Okay let's go!" Melanie sweetly, yet with an edge of command in her voice, pushed Stella and Cooper into the parlor before Judy or Jack could say anything.

Judy looked back at Jack and laughed nervously, running a paw through her ears. Jack just rolled his eyes at his friends' antics.

"Relentless, aren't they? Are you sure you talked to them?" She took a seat across from Jack and rested her chin on her paws.

Jack sighed looking at his friends in line. "Yes, I did, but I guess I wasn't as _persuasive_ as I should have been. So, what's new with you, Officer Hopps, any new leads regarding these pirate attacks hitting the fishing boats? You mentioned before you don't think any of the mob is involved."

Judy shook her head. "No, I mean you would think after all the fighting going down in Tundra Town, the SWINE team has needed to be sent out twice already due to the violence between the different gangs, but so far it seems like they are just as scared and nervous as everyone else. I mean most of them are polar bears after all."

Jack nodded, placing his paws in front of him. "Do you believe that the pirates could be an…outside party?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, do you believe that they are not from Zootopia, but from the surrounding area?"

"I believe that whoever could be doing this either has some access to some pretty high tech technology or some very small animals working for them. I mean the fact that there has been no video footage, no fingerprints or fur left behind. I am told too that the fishermals describe even the scent as strange. I think this is more than just some petty criminals, I get the feeling that these guys are hiding something big! I just wish I knew what." Judy looked out at the crowds of mammals walking alongside each other in peace in harmony, predators and prey alike. Could this be the end of the harmony between the two classes of animals?

She turned back around to find Jack staring at her. She blushed and looked away quickly.

"What…what is it?"

Her question seemed to startle Jack a bit. "Sorry, it's just that I could see your mind working, it…it was cute."

Judy looked up at him, shocked. He smiled slyly at her and then cleared his throat.

"Oh, my gosh, Judy, he just called you cute," squealed her mom's voice inside her head.

"It's interesting that you think that these pirates might be hiding something, because I have a hunch that there is more to this whole fish matter than meets the eye," added Jack, acting as if the last comment had never been said.

"Why the sudden interest in the case," Judy asked leaning forward in her chair a bit.

"I am a rabbit of the world what can I say? This sort of stuff intrigues me. I love a good puzzle." His sly smile returned, causing Judy's stomach to make a triple axel summersault.

Judy couldn't help, but feel that there was a double meaning in that last statement. Sweet cheese and crackers, this guy just keeps getting more interesting by the minute. A small buzzing sound coming from Jack's shirt pocket prevented her from commenting.

"Oh, hang on, I need to take this," he said taking out his phone and placing it to his ear. Judy waited politely, turning around to see what sort of progress Stella, Melanie, and Cooper had made in line. She spotted them just paying for their ice cream, Melanie and Cooper, both had their cellphones to their ears.

"Understood. Yes, I will be there straight away. Oh, I have a hunch I know whose it is." His eyes darted over at Judy as he said this. He hung up the phone and sighed. Judy watched him, he didn't seem pleased by the content of the call.

"Don't tell me you guys have to go," she said softly and a little sad.

"I have to Judy, I am sorry," returned Jack pocketing his phone and looking toward the parlor to catch Melanie and Cooper's attention.

Melanie and Cooper nodded and turned to make their excuses to Stella who looked just as dejected as Judy. Suddenly Jack leaned over across the table towards Judy. Judy startled a bit. His face was so close to hers that she could have kissed him. He looked around as to make sure that no one was watching them. Everyone was too busy enjoying their ice cream to pay the two rabbits any attention.

"Judy, listen, I probably should not be telling you this, but I don't think you should be alone tonight."

"What? Jack, you're scaring me what— "

"I am sorry, I have to go and I wish I had more time to explain, but I am sure you will understand. Trust me, go back with Stella and stay with her at her apartment. Keep your phone charged and with you at all times. You will thank me later…" He looked down at the table, hesitating. He looked back up at Judy's questioning eyes.

"Jack, what's wrong? Are you in trouble? Do you need some protection? Tell me."

His worried expression broke out into a smile at her words. He even chuckled a little bit, which perplexed Judy even more.

"Oh Judy, no, I am fine, I promise. I wish I could tell you… I mean I am sure it doesn't matter, but…duty and all. You will understand… I hope… Just promise me you will forgive me when the time comes, yeah?"

He pulled himself up, fixed his tie, and without another word, jogged off to meet Cooper and Melanie who were waiting for him outside the parlor. With one paw he saluted Judy good bye without turning around.

"Nice move, Catanova," Cooper snickered. Jack, without looking at the raccoon, swiftly punched him in the arm causing Cooper to wince.

Judy was left at the table, with her mouth opened, her heart beating faster than it ever had before, and her mind racing.

"Stella, you know something! Why can't you just tell me? Why was Jack being so cryptic? Are you sure he isn't in any danger? Who are these new clients of theirs? Are they related to the mob bosses? Oh geez, you don't think they are hurt, are they? Shouldn't we call them?"

"Enough, Judy," yelled Stella. "I am sure that Jack was only thinking of your well-being that is all! Trust me I am just as much in the dark as you are!"

Stella plopped herself down dramatically on a lounge chaise in her living room. Judy was sitting on the sofa next to her, back straight, ears erect, and nose twitching furiously. Her foot was thumping the carpet at what seemed like 15 miles per hour. Stella glared down at Judy's restless foot.

"Do you mind? I do have downstairs neighbors you know."

Judy stopped her stomping, and instead got up and began pacing the living room. Stella watched her with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Stella, are you sure…"

"Yes! For the millionth time yes, your Romeo is not in trouble and even if he was, trust me, he is a big boy he can take care of himself."

Judy stopped and glared at the female skunk. How was she not concerned? Stella was hiding something from her and she was determined to figure out what it was.

"Okay, first off, he is not my _anything_ ," returned Judy hotly pointing her finger at Stella, "you guys have imagined some sort of romantic connection that we do not have, so drop it! Secondly, you are hiding something from me, I know you are."

Stella turned away from Judy, avoiding her eyes. Judy came around to the other side of the chaise, feeling like she was getting close to breaking her friend. She bent down and placed her paws on the back of the chair looking at Stella.

"Oh yeah, you are being standoffish, which you never are. You are in a bad temper and you can't look me in the eyes, can you?"

Stella turned away from her and got up walking away with her tail swishing gracefully back and forth. "Look sugar cube, it's not my secret to share. I cannot tell you anything. All I can say is that Jack was trying to be a good friend, and now his good deed is coming back to bite me in the tail!"

She made it to the kitchen and began making a cup of tea. Judy's nose twitched some more in frustration, she walked over to the kitchen to stand right behind Stella with her arms crossed.

"Not your secret, huh? What does that mean?"

Stella just shrugged and continued making her tea.

"Why would lawyers need to be keeping a secret. How could Jack have some sort of intel about what is going to happen to me? Where is he getting his intel? You know what I think? I think that Jack, Melanie, Cooper, and possibly Koalski are not who they say they are. Which means, you are not who you say you are…"

Stella continued to ignore Judy as she pulled out a cookie jar and helped herself to some macadamia nut cookies. Judy furrowed her brows. Something was clearly up, there was always a mysterious air about her friends. This wasn't the first time that they had to be called away on business. Whenever Judy asked about their work as lawyers, their response was always very generic. There was never anything specific about cases, which Judy had considered odd. Also no one had seemed to have heard of Furrah Law Firm. Judy had once tried to find the address to meet up with her new friends on their way to the movies, but there was the excuse of 'that's the old address on the website', 'we will meet with you there'. Something hadn't been adding up for Judy, but she had always pushed it back, but not it was all very much at the forefront of her mind.

"Fine, we will have to do this the hard way. I will ask you a series of questions and all you have to do is answer them for me. Okay? We shall see if I can figure out if I am right or not."

Stella carried a tray of tea and cookies for two over to the coffee table. She didn't say a word to Judy, but the bunny couldn't help but notice a small smile playing on the skunk's black lips. Judy took Stella's silence to mean she would play along. Judy went to the extra bedroom and grabbed her bag holding her laptop. She pulled her laptop out of the bag, turned it on, and sat down next to Stella, helping herself to a cookie as she did so.

"Let's start off with basic information, shall we," she smirked as she cracked her knuckles before pulling up her internet browser. "What's Jack's last name? Actually, what is everyone's last name? I don't think you have ever shared that with me."

"Jack Briar, Melanie Snuffler, Cooper Hollowitz, and you know its Wallace Koalski," Stella replied lazily sipping her tea with her pinkie up in the air.

Judy typed the names into her computer under Zoogle. The first thing that was pulled up for the names was their law firm's website, Furrah Law Firm. She looked through the website, everything seemed to check out, it looked like any normal website. There wasn't all that many attorneys listed on the website apart from her friends and a few other mammals, including their boss a very stern looking female jaguar.

Frustrated, Judy continued to search what else came up under their names. Each of her friends had a profile for a social networking website for professionals and all their information checked out with what they said on their law page. Cooper even had a profile on . Judy giggled at that and wondered if Stella knew about it.

"Didn't find anything, huh sugar cube?" Judy shot Stella an annoyed glance.

"No, but I wonder what would happen if I were to look you up, Ms. LeFleur. Anything to hide?"

Stella shook her head. "Knock yourself out, darling."

Judy typed in 'Stella LeFleur', references to a book, movie and TV show under the same name all popped up. She thought about it and typed 'Stella Skunkiwick' and she was able to find the Furbook profile of her friend. She clicked on it and pulled up a few pictures of her and her family. There was even a graduation picture from when she joined the force. There! Something caught Judy's eyes, she clicked on the graduation picture it was an artsy picture posted up by one of her brothers it seemed. It showed Stella in the foreground shaking Chief Bogo's hand and in the background, was her family, Jack, Melanie, Cooper and Koalski. Standing behind Cooper was a certain female jaguar that looked oddly familiar. Judy enlarged the picture. She knew it, it was the same stern looking jaguar that was the head of the law firm. Why would she have come to Stella's graduation? Stella had always said that she had worked dead end jobs before she joined the ZPD. Working for a top-notch law firm would hardly be deemed dead end. Judy noticed something else, the jaguar had a name tag from work that she had forgotten to take off. Judy enlarged the picture even more.

"Eleanor Hunt," she whispered. She clicked back over to the law firm website and found the same jaguar's profile picture only below it read 'Eleanor Panthera'. Bingo. Judy smiled at her detective skills. She clicked back to Zoogle and typed in 'Eleanor Hunt', to her shock a link to a certain website popped up. Without saying a word Judy, quickly clicked on the link and gasped. Suddenly it all made sense.

"What is it," asked Stella startled by Judy's gasp.

Judy turned the computer screen around where the same jaguar's profile picture was on display. The page showed the director of the Zootopian Intelligence Agency. Stella's ears drew back in surprise.

"You…all of you…you work for the ZIA, don't you?"

Stella sat there dumbfounded, not sure what to say. Stella sighed, her shoulders slumped in defeat, and grabbed both of Judy's paws.

"Honey, yes, I used to be a federal agent…I got injured and so had to settle for a quieter life as a ZPD officer. I am sorry I didn't tell you before."

Judy pushed Stella's paws away from her, hurt by her backhanded insult. Stella sighed. "Now, what you have to understand is that the others are under strict orders to uphold our other identities for our own safety. We are to portray a different life story to civilians who ask about us. If Hunt, knew what Jack had said he would be in heaps of trouble. So please just promise me that whenever you see him next you go easy on him?"

Judy pulled away from Stella. She was hurt. Her feelings, but most of all her pride was hurt. How many times had she gone on about the glories of being a cop to her friends when they were all living double lives that were even more dangerous that what she faced out on the streets every day. What must they have thought of me? Oh how, cute look at that dumb bunny reaching her pathetic little dream… She frowned and turned away from Stella. It all seemed like some cruel joke.

"Alright, now I know, but that still doesn't answer why Jack warned me not to be alone tonight!"

Before Stella could answer her, Judy's phone rang. For a second, Judy just stared at it ringing and vibrating away on the coffee table.

 _Keep your phone charged and with you at all times._ Jack's words echoed inside Judy's head. She grabbed her phone and answered.

"Hopps," came Chief Bogo's gruff voice over the phone. Judy's heart stopped beating, her mouth went dry, and tears came to her eyes all at once.

"Yes, Chief," she managed to squeak out in a tiny voice. Stella joined her quickly, placing two paws on her shoulders. Judy didn't shrug them away this time, all anger had melted away as she waited to hear what the Chief would say next.

"It's about Wilde's team. They were hit. Hard. He is on his way back via helicopter along with the other members of the crew. He should be arriving in a few hours at the Zootopia airport. Thought you ought to know."

"Is-is he, hurt?" Judy closed her eyes as she said this, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to the question.

"He is a bit rattled, but otherwise fine. He is a hero, Hopps. He is the only one to have seen the pirates, apart from one other crew member. He also, somehow, avoided getting hit by a tranquilizer unlike Wolfard and the rest of the crew."

Judy broke into a smile and brushed a few tears away. "Of course, he did! Is he going to be checked up? What hospital will you— "

"I can't talk more Hopps, but don't worry we will take good care of him. Wilde has a long day ahead of him and I am sure he will not be allowed to communicate with anyone until the ZIA is finished debriefing him on what happened. So just take tomorrow off, I will call Officer LeFleur to take some time off, too."

"That won't be necessary, sir. She is standing next to me right now. I will inform her."

"Very well, then. Hopps, all I ask is patience. You will get your chance to see, Wilde too. Right now, what he needs is rest and I am afraid he will get very little of that with the ZIA now involved. Good night, to both of you."

"Thank you, sir. Good night." Judy hung up her phone and looked up at Stella's face. Before Judy could say anything, Stella pulled her into a large hug. Judy didn't fight it, she just hugged her friend back all feelings of anger and hurt gone. What was important now was that Nick was safe. He was safe and he was on his way home. Finally.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Good morning, Agent Savage, did you have a nice vacation," asked the chipper doe secretary as Jack walked through the doors of the ZIA headquarters.

"Yes, thank you Penny," he replied courteously as he swiped his ID badge so he could get past the barriers into the main part of the building. He made a beeline to the indoor Starbucks to get his usual, a grande espresso macchiato and a protein bar. After picking up his breakfast, he took the elevator to the sixth floor and made his way to the interrogation room where the rest of the team was waiting for him.

"You're late, Savage," remarked Agent Swarma as Jack joined the group of agents all gathered outside the one way viewing glass.

"I was up all night reading every history and literature book I could find on the subject," shot back Jack, annoyed at the leopard.

"Hmm, let's hope so, because if what this fox is saying is true, we are all going to have to brush up on our history," growled the leopard as he stared into the room, where Officer Nicholas Wilde was sitting alone.

Jack looked through the glass at the fox. Nick looked like he was still in shock, he kept flinching in his seat, looking around nervously. Jack shook his head, he would probably be in the same state if he had seen what Wilde had.

"Poor fool, probably doesn't think anyone is going to believe him," piped in Cooper as he appeared at Jack's shoulder, slurped noisily from his Big Gulp.

"Wouldn't you feel like that? I mean of course _we_ believe him, because we know about their existence. The rest of the world…not so much." Jack looked back at Nick. So, this was the famous Nick Wilde that Judy Hopps went on and on about. He must be something, evading the attack the way he did and managing to escape relatively unscathed. At the moment, he didn't look like much. Nick was wearing a standard grey ZIA shirt and some sweat pants that had been found for him. Since the whole ship was being swept for evidence, Nick was not able to have access to his clothes, so some had been provided for him.

"Here you go Savage, it's the report from the lab, Agent Howards confirms that the bit of material found on Wilde's fur is indeed molten reptile skin. Perhaps that would be a good segway into starting the conversation, and making him feel a little more confident in what he saw. From what Director Hunt was telling us, the poor fox is still in shock and trying to convince himself that he didn't see what he saw. At least he is in a better state than that poor ocelot kid. He had to go down to level three for some therapy. It is clear that these mammals don't quite understand what it is that happened last night. Go easy on him."

"Thank you, Swarma," replied Jack receiving the report folder. "This may take long…"

"Take all the time you need, Savage," replied the leopard and Jack entered the room.

Once inside he was greeted with the usual surprised expression, most predators gave him whenever he walked into an interrogation room. Funny, considering Nick's partner was a rabbit as well. 'Rabbits like Judy and I will always remain anomalies, I suppose,' he thought as he walked around the table to shake hands with the nervous fox.

"Officer Wilde, my name is Agent Savage I have been assigned to this case. I trust you are feeling better? Doctor Snow, told me that you were a bit dehydrated and shocked in the helicopter."

He extended a paw to Nick. Nick took it hesitantly still looking around at the plain walls of the room. He glanced at the one-way glass. Of course, being a police officer, he was probably very much aware that there was an audience witnessing their interactions.

Nick looked down at Jack with a puzzled expression on his face. "Um…yeah… I am fine. Well as good as I am going to be for a while."

"Of course. I can only imagine given what you have been through, that you are still in a bit of a shock. I just want to assure you that you are in a safe place. It is very important you relate to me everything that you saw last night, down to the last detail. You are the only mammal that has seen the pirates with your own two eyes, let alone interacted with them. Since the camera footage was destroyed you are our only source of information." Jack paused to see if the importance of Nick's position had sunk in. The fox sunk down in his chair as if a massive weight had just been lain on his shoulders, his expression tense. 'Hmm, perhaps I overdid it,' Jack thought.

Jack took the seat across from him and folded his paws in front of him. He looked down at the folder with the lab report. Nick didn't look like he was ready to talk quite yet. An idea crossed Jack's mind and he excused himself for a moment and left the interrogation room. He ran down the hall to his office where he fetched a few books that he had been perusing the night before. Choosing the books he needed, he dashed back to the interrogation room, paying no mind to Swarma's complaints about leaving the eyewitness unattended.

"Officer Wilde, I am very well aware that what you saw is difficult to comprehend, so allow me to speak first. Perhaps you will find the subject matter inside these books interesting."

Nick stared at him blankly almost as if he wasn't seeing Jack fully. Jack grabbed the biggest volume and skimmed through the pages till he found a picture of what he was looking for. He lifted the heavy book and showed the page to Nick. The fox's green eyes widened at the photograph of an old Medieval era tapestry. In the picture, it depicted a crocodile walking up right and wearing armor as if getting ready for battle.

"Is this what you saw," Jack prompted.

Nick looked back up at Jack, his eyes still wide and his ears flattened against his head. He slowly nodded. "Am I crazy?"

"No, Officer Wilde you are not. Far from it. Tell me what do you know about these creatures?"

"Only, what every mammal learned in elementary school in literature class," Nick shrugged his shoulders and look away from the picture. His tail wrapped around his body in a defensive position. Jack was getting a bit peeved at Nick's lack of cooperation.

"Officer Wilde, please I know this seems crazy, but just indulge me a bit. Tell me what they taught you at school."

Nick still didn't say anything. Jack hung his head and looked over at the window. His gaze fell on the laboratory file results. He picked it up and opened it, all the while staring at Nick.

"Wilde, what you saw wasn't some fabrication of your own tired mind. It was real! You said something of it to Director Hunt when you were first picked up. I have here the proof that you are not some crazed delusional fox. Please look at it."

Jack slid the open folder across the table to Nick. Nick picked it up and saw the lab results. Stapled to the folder was a small plastic bag containing a fragment of molten reptile skin. Nick picked up the bag and looked at it carefully. It worked. As soon as he saw the hard evidence, the reminder of the scaly skin he had seen and possibly even felt, Jack could see a fire in Nick's eyes.

"I can't be crazy. This is proof, isn't it? But how? They were supposed to be extinct a long time ago."

"Let me tell you the old myth, that every citizen of Zootopia learns when they are young. Hundreds of years ago there were other types of animals who were different from mammals. They were cold, scaly, laid eggs and tended to keep to themselves, they were called reptiles. There was also another group of animals called birds, who could fly high in the sky, didn't have fur and also laid eggs. The different animal families got along relatively peacefully once the call for a truce and peace was made. Then around the 12th century, a devastating pandemic hit the country of Mammalia, which wiped out almost 30-60% of the country's population."

"Yeah, I remember that it was called the Black Death," interrupted Nick. Jack shot him an annoyed look. Nick cleared his throat and shut his mouth.

"As I was saying, it was not known at the time that the cause of the disease was from various parasites who would live inside mammal's fur and bite the victim, therefore spreading the disease. The myth goes that the birds all took to the skies and were never seen from again. The reptiles all took their numbers underground where the plague could not reach them, leaving the rest of the poor mammals to fend for their own and pick up the broken pieces of their civilization as best as they could. Unfortunately, Officer Wilde, there is more truth in that old myth than what you would think."

"You mean to tell me that these ancient creatures were not killed off by the plagues? Then where are they, how did they survive?"

Jack drummed his fingers on the table, impatiently.

"Well, very few scientists study this myth, but recent studies have found that in fact this myth is not myth at all, but a historical account of what actually happened between reptiles, birds, and mammals. What the majority of the mammal world doesn't know is that the reptiles and birds escaped and they separated themselves from the mammals entirely. You see in our story they are the antagonists, the traitors who left mammals to die. What actually happened was that their leaders took them to safety and when the plague was over, they returned to see how they could help their mammal allies, but they were cast out called traitors and thrown out of the country. Being, that since most of the reptile and bird community cannot hold their own against most mammals based on sheer size and strength they left, and had to relocate and find a new home. Broken and unstable, they allied themselves to each other found a new place to live, mainly a large island chain several hundred miles away from Zootopia's coast."

"So that island, that restricted area of the ocean, that is where they are? That would mean though that the government has known about their existence this entire time! Wow talk about conspiracy theories! What's next you are going to tell me that Area 41 is real too?!"

Jack continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "It would be many years, before mammals would discover this island chain, but by then the reptiles and birds had evolved as rapidly as us, if not more so. A secret treaty was made to keep the knowledge of these islands away from the general knowledge of all of Mammalia and in return there would be peace amongst everyone. That is until now."

Jack stopped the history lesson and looked at the fox. He could almost see the gears turning inside the fox's brain as he came to terms with the new information that had just been given to him. He looked again at the picture in the book and then back up at Jack.

"Okay, this is way too much crazy information for me to process. You mean to tell me that for hundreds of years these…creatures…that we all think are myths are actually alive and have some sort of booming civilization of their own? How has there been no contact between the species? And am I right about Area 41?"

For the first time in this entire interview, Nick's true personality seemed to be coming back. Jack was pleased to see that he was in better spirits to cooperate, even though it meant a lot of nonsensical interruptions.

"Because of severe restrictions and constant surveillance on our part and their own intelligence agencies. Anyone who does make contact is quickly put away and goes through a type of …rehabilitation so to speak so that they never speak of it again. But their presence cannot be ignored any longer. The ZIA has theorized for the past few months that the pirate actions that have been plaguing our fishing boats might be connected to either one of these species. Thanks to you, Officer Wilde, we can now confirm it and take the proper course of action. So, if you please, tell me all about it. As far as Area 41 is concerned, that is a matter for another time."

Jack smiled slyly at the fox. Nick's ears drooped a bit, obviously confused about whether Jack was telling the truth or not.

"Alright, Agent Savage, you have convinced me that I am not a total nut-case. And if that is the case, well life just got ten times more interesting…"

Jack was eating his lunch at his desk. He munched at his salad as he rewound and re-watched his taped interview with Nick Wilde. There was no doubt in his brain, that despite appearances, the fox was quite capable. He had managed to almost complete his mission, kept his head together enough, and managed to escape undetected. Nick had taken the news of the existence of reptiles and birds pretty well, although he still seemed skeptical, Jack's tactics had enabled Nick to open up and freely tell Jack everything. He could see why Judy had spoken so highly of him. After the interview, Jack had reported to Director Hunt personally all his findings along with the tape. Nick had been placed in a room under the care of Melanie, the medical examiner. Koalski had already come in and told Jack that based off of Nick's description they were most likely dealing with two different species of reptiles, namely saltwater crocodiles and something freaky called a chameleon.

Jack grinned as he scribbled away some notes. This was it. It must be fate that he had been chosen for this mission. This mission had everything, danger, mystery, and international crisis. If he was able to fully complete the mission (whatever it was) he would be up for Agent Swarma's job in no time as Director of Mission Centers. He was still a bit young, a bit brash, but he knew he was the best, at least one of them.

"Say Jack, what do you think of Robin Hood over there," asked Cooper coming into his office without knocking and interrupting his thoughts.

"How many times have I told you to knock," replied Jack frowning.

"Eh, you know I don't listen to you," returned the rude raccoon. He bit down on a sandwich he was carrying, causing mustard and ketchup to fall on Jack's paper. Jack glared at Cooper's fat cheeks full to the brim with sandwich.

"Do you mind? I am working. Go eat that sandwich somewhere else!"

"Geez, grumpy much. You know why I think you are so grumpy?" Cooper continued to munch on his sandwich finishing it in two large bites. Jack watched as a cluster of crumbs fell to the floor on his clean carpet. Grumbling Jack took out the mini-vac he kept in his drawer and vacuumed up the offending crumbs with one swift motion. He glared at Cooper as he placed it back inside his drawer.

"No, Cooper, enlighten me why do you think I am so grumpy," muttered Jack dabbing away the ketchup and mustard off from his notes.

"I think it's because you have finally met the best-partner-a-bunny-cop-could-ask-for-Nick-Wilde, and you see that he is living up to his reputation…therefore things for Jack Savage and Judy Hopps don't bode too well." Cooper snickered. He had used a higher-pitched voice when describing Nick in a very Judy fashion.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," replied Jack taking another bite from his salad. "Really Cooper, we are in the middle of an international crisis that could possibly lead to complications or even worse, war. And you are still going on about this fantasy that Melanie and Stella started about me and Judy."

"Hey love doesn't stop for anything, Jack," quipped Cooper, "that is a universal truth." He elbowed Jack a bit.

Jack sighed in frustration. "For the millionth time, I respect Judy, I admire Judy, I think she has a lot to offer…she is not interested right now. She has made that clear to me, which is fine because I am not looking for anything either. So, I wish you all would just drop the subject all together. Besides, you know me I don't get jealous."

Cooper guffawed at Jack's last comment, doubling over and smacking Jack on the back with one paw. "Yeah, and I am a little kitten who can dance ballet. Trust me dude, I can already see it coming. And when it does you owe me fifty bucks."

Jack sniggered. "I'll take that bet, since you have no idea what you are talking about."

He slapped Cooper's extended paw. "Oh by the way, Savage, the Empress wishes to see you. She wants you to meet her ASAP." Cooper smiled widely.

Jack stared at Cooper in disbelief. "Son of a— "

"Agent Savage, you are late again. Do you actually use that watch on your wrist or is checking the time something beneath you?" Director Hunt growled as Jack stood before her doubled over from running.

"No, ma'am, Agent Spears was reluctant to relay your message in a timely manner," managed Jack in between breaths.

Hunt rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I don't know why I keep that masked buffoon on the team. If he weren't so brilliant at his job, he would have been fired the day he walked in this building. Never mind Savage, you are here now."

"Yes ma'am," Jack straightened up and gave his boss his full attention.

"I would like to commend you on your interrogation skills. Officer Wilde was not willing to give the rest of us much to go on during the helicopter ride back into the city. It was a wise decision to show him the laboratory sample. Provided physical proof of what otherwise seemed insane and implausible. Good work."

"Thank you, ma'am," Jack replied, all the while inwardly patting himself on the back.

"Now as you may have deduced, this sort of mission is going to be different. I have shown the tape to Mayor Swinton, the Foreign Secretary and the President himself. Since they are politicians they believe that it is best for us to resolve this…diplomatically."

Hunt said the last word with great disgust. "Which of course you know means ridiculously boring conversations amongst utterly nonsensical politicians that will lead to nothing. But that is what the rule is so we shall carry out this mission the way the politicians want it. Your mission then is to escort Senator Prickson and his secretary to Terraria, the reptile capital. He will then meet with the leader of the reptiles, their President Phaedrus, and try to reach the bottom of this. President Phaedrus and President Trunk have already been in communication with one another. Phaedrus insists that he is not aware of any illegal action taking place outside of Terraria."

Director Hunt leaned forward so she was down to Jack's eye level. "Something is not right Savage and I wish for you to lead a team down there and figure out what is really going on. This second part of the mission is going to be off the books. You have shown tremendous potential so far and I believe you are ready to carry out this sort of mission. I am sure I need not remind you that Agent Swarma's going to be retiring this year. This may be your chance to prove yourself."

Jack nodded, excitedly. It took all he could to keep his expression emotionless. Finally, his chance to move up in ranks! After serving for five years as a field agent, this was the opportunity Jack had been waiting for.

"Will I be allowed to choose the members of my team," he inquired of the large female jaguar.

"Hold your horses, Savage, you are not director yet. A mission this big needs to be carefully thought out. Senator Prickson is very nervous, naturally he has never encountered a reptile before, and President Phaedrus is very nervous as well. His citizens have never seen mammals before. It has been decided that the best plan of action is to choose the more…non-threatening animals to go on this trip. Also, given the subterranean nature of Terraria, it is also important to choose mammals who are smaller in size so that they may not be inconvenienced by the smaller sized buildings, tunnels, etc of the city."

Jack's ears fell when he heard this. So, he wasn't being chosen because of his skills, after all. It was all because of his size. And the fact that he was more adept at being underground than other mammals. 'Great, my big chance and its only because I am the only rabbit on the team...', he thought to himself. No matter an opportunity is an opportunity all the same. He would make the best of it and just be grateful for his natural gifts that would aid in this mission.

Director Hunt reached inside her desk drawer to pull out a heavy file folder. She placed it down before Jack. Jack's eyes widened at the sheer size of the paperwork inside.

"I have chosen your teammates for you. You will be the only field agent going along for the trip. If we still had Agent LeFleur she would have joined you, but alas we all know what happened when you two last partnered up." She glared at Jack as she said this.

Jack looked down at his feet in shame, as if he was a young boy again being scolded by his mother. He was never going to live that down. Probably why he was better off working alone.

"You will have Agent Howards with you, acting as your expert. He will also serve as the leading expert for Senator Prickson as well. The good senator has asked for security and so we shall be giving it to him in the form of two ZPD officers."

Jack's ears pricked up as Hunt said this. 'Don't tell me she expects,' he thought nervously.

"Chief Bogo has kindly allowed us to use his smallest, but best cop team he has. Officer Wilde and Officer Hopps will be accompanying you on this mission. You will be meeting with them and Bogo in about four hours. Their job is strictly security; however, Bogo tells me their detective skills are superb. Perhaps they may be of some use in aiding you on this mission. And of course, Agent Spears will be your ZIA analyst and gadget technician. He will be based here and will be available to radio in any backup should you need it. Go Savage, you have a lot of work ahead of you. I suggest you meet up with Howards and go over the paperwork. In there you will find the names and profiles of all the important reptiles in Terraria. Familiarize yourself with them, I want you to know every bit of information in that folder by heart. It is important that these reptiles understand that we mean business, and that no matter what sort of 'arrangement' the senator comes to with them, they need to know that theft is something we mammals DO NOT TOLERATE!"

"Yes ma'am. I will rendezvous with Howard, Spears, and meet up with the ZPD officers. Will we be meeting here?"

"Yes. Chief Bogo will be bringing in Officer Hopps. Officer Wilde is still in Dr. Snow's care. She believes he will be ready, although she doesn't agree with his joining the team. Wilde seems ready to go back in for another round. Ha! I like that fox, I can see why Bogo speaks so highly of him, and I am curious to meet Hopps. If she is anything like you, then I am sure this mission will be successful."

Jack smiled to himself. 'I am curious to see her in action, too'. He nodded to Director Hunt, gathered the heavy folder in his arms and turned to head to the door. As he was just about to close it Director Hunt called out to him one last time.

"Oh, and Savage?"

He stopped and peeked back into her office. "Yes, ma'am."

"Chief Bogo says that Wilde and Hopps make quite a team. Perhaps you should learn something from them while you are out there. You are the leader of this mission and they will follow your lead, but I must insist on the importance of working as a team. Perhaps you can take their lead in that regard?"

Jack sighed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Boy oh boy, I mean what is UP with these names," chuckled Cooper in between bites of his nachos.

"Cooper, must you always eat the messiest foods whenever we are reviewing a case file," demanded Jack, rubbing his temples in irritation at his masked friend.

"What do you mean," asked Cooper innocently taking a napkin and daintily dabbing away the sticky cheese off his muzzle with it.

"Well the names of reptiles have to do with the age of their species," piped in Koalski excitedly skimming through the names and memorizing them as soon as he read it. "After all reptiles have been around over 300 million years! It only stands to reason that their names sound a little more archaic to us."

"Yeah, but Caius? Nicodemus? Bernardus?! Whatever happened to good old fashioned Bernie? I betcha that guy's nick name is Bernie!"

"The weirdness of their names is neither here nor there," exclaimed Jack as he too tried to memorize the names and faces. "What's important is that we know them so that way we don't appear like complete idiots in the presence of these reptiles. Koalski, what is this animal again?"

Jack pointed at President Phaedrus' picture. Koalski looked over and returned back to his own notes. "It's a Galapagos tortoise, Jack, it's one of the longest living animals in the world. Which is probably why he is president. They can live up to 100 years old."

"Pff, poor guy LOOKS like he is 100 years old, am I right," chuckled Cooper mimicking the slow walk of an old animal using a cane.

The others all gave him a disapproving look at his antics. Jack's phone rang on his desk. He picked it up and placed the receiver to his ear.

"Savage."

"Agent Savage, Chief Bogo and Officer Hopps are here to see you," came in Penny's chipper voice.

"Great send them in," Jack replied and hung up the phone. He looked at the mess on his desk. They hadn't had time to eat dinner, so they had eaten dinner here in his office. As a result, there was paperwork, and empty food containers everywhere. Cooper ate like a small infant and so therefore a third of his desk was a complete mess. No good, can't have them seeing this.

"Alright they are on their way. Let's pick up and get the paperwork back in the folders. Koalski go down to Melanie and tell her to send Wilde up here too. Cooper, finish those nachos and clean up your area! I swear sometimes I feel like I am your mother!"

"Love you too, Jack," replied Cooper gobbling up the rest of the nachos and running to Jack's supply closet which was always fully stocked with cleaning supplies.

A few minutes later, Jack's desk was looking pristine. He glanced at himself in the mirror hanging inside his supply closet. No crumbs, no wrinkles, his suit was perfect. Cooper snickered as Jack closed the door and sat back down behind his desk, folding his paws in front of him.

"What's so funny," he demanded of the raccoon.

"Oh nothing, just so cute how you want to look your best for Miss Hopps," replied Cooper.

Jack was about to retort back when there was a knock at his door. He cleared his throat, glared back at Cooper who was standing behind him with a ridiculous grin on his face, and said, "Come in."

Chief Bogo, the larger than life cape buffalo walked into his room. He was followed by Judy who was dressed in her police uniform, a sight that Jack had never seen before. It suited her. She barely looked over in his direction, but instead kept her gaze on the mundane green carpet lining his office, how he hated that carpet. Her reaction could only mean one thing, she had figured it out already about him, Cooper, and everyone else. Jack was impressed. He made a mental note to ask her later about it.

"Chief Bogo, Officer Hopps, pleasure to meet you. My name is Agent Jack Savage and this is my associate Agent Cooper Spears," began Jack carefully, watching Judy's reactions to the announcement of their names. Nothing. She looked up at him meeting his eyes. Jack felt a little chill go up his spine. Was she mad at him? Why would she be mad?

Chief Bogo just snorted in response. Judy nodded at him and Cooper. Jack dared not look over at Cooper who he was sure was doing his best not to laugh. Jack turned his attention on the Chief who also looked like he had a vendetta against him. 'Great, my first time leading a mission, and one of my subordinates looks like she is ready to kill me,' he thought.

"Um…I trust you have been informed as to why you are here," continued Jack his confidence level dropping under the gaze of those accusatory purple eyes.

"Yes, Director Hunt told me everything. Despite my disapproval of wishing to use Officer Wilde on this mission, she insisted that he was the only one that would 'fit' inside your precious reptile holes. I find that hard to believe, not to mention this whole mission hard to believe. This is no place for ZPD officers!" Bogo stood to his full height and glared down at Jack.

Jack grinned, if this was a tactic to intimidate him, the Chief had come stomping on the wrong door.

"I assure you Chief Bogo, that the utmost care was taken in choosing the members of this team. I am very well-aware of Officer Wilde's conditions, but I have spoken to him myself and he is ready and up for the task. Please allow me to congratulate you on having such a prime example of heroism and bravery on your police force." Jack stood up on his desk so he could be closer to eye level with Bogo as he said this. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Judy watching him with raised eyebrow and nose twitching.

"And everyone knows about Officer Judy Hopps and her many great accomplishments. I confess that I am _very_ excited to be working with two of the ZPD's best officers." He looked down directly at Judy as he said this giving her his best smile.

"I don't think that you understand our concerns, _Agent Savage_ ," replied Judy, placing an emphasis on his name, walking up to the desk and hopping on up herself. Jack's smile disappeared as she did this. She walked right up to him, standing as tall as she could. She was still about half a head shorter than him, but the tone in her voice showed she meant business.

"Nick has gone through hell and back already and he deserves to rest! Not to be sent back out on a mission that involves going into unfamiliar, possibly hostile territory. Hasn't he been through enough?!" She was almost yelling now, the passion in her voice causing it to tremble just the slightest bit. Jack looked down at her amused and entertained.

"I understand, _Officer Hopps_ ," he placed the same emphasis on her name that she had on his. "But unfortunately, it is beyond my power to relieve Officer Wilde of his duties. He has been especially chosen by the director of the ZIA, the senator whom he will be protecting, and perhaps even President Trunk himself. Far be it for me, to take away this golden opportunity to show everyone what he is truly made of."

That stopped her. She lowered herself just the slightest bit, thinking about his words. Jack, pleased that his words had produced the desired effect, continued.

"He is already being hailed a hero. And think about it, what better team to take to Terraria than the all-star Wilde Hopps team who sabotaged Bellwether's scheme to take over Zootopia?" Jack watched the emotions change on Judy's face. She was the kind of person who wore her heart on her sleeve. He could almost see the desire to prove herself blooming inside of her just like him.

"Ahem, am I interrupting anything?"

Jack and Judy both turned towards the door. There stood Koalski, Melanie, and Nick. It was Nick who had spoken and he was staring at Jack with a malevolent glare.

"Oh Nick!" Judy jumped off the desk and ran to the fox, practically throwing herself upon him and giving him a big hug.

"Hopps! Some professionalism please!" Bogo growled as he walked over to Nick and Judy. Nick looked as if he wasn't sure what to do about the grey bunny hugging him so tightly. He smiled and patted her head saying, "So emotional." She playfully punched him in the arm and finally released him.

"Don't worry Carrots, I am okay. Really, it's not as bad as all that, the Doc says I am fit and ready to go."

'Carrots? Really, she let him call her Carrots. Hmm. Interesting,' thought Jack as he jumped down from his desk to join everyone else.

"Are…are you sure? I mean if you are not I am sure there is something we can do even though Jack claims there isn't." Judy turned to look at Jack in an almost pleading manner.

"Jack, huh," Nick looked back over and frowned at him.

"Yes, Officer Wilde, Jack Savage. As I told Officer Hopps, you two were specifically picked. You should be honored at the opportunity to represent your species— "

"Technically it's the class Mammalia, not species," interrupted Koalski pushing his glasses up his nose.

Jack shot Koalski an annoyed look. "I am sorry your _class_. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, history in the making. We will all be the first mammals to ever set foot inside of the reptile city, Terraria!"

"Technically no, Agent Savage, about the year 1812 there was another group of mammalian explorers who first were able to see Terraria for themselves. I believe their names were Lionis and Clomp…"

"Ah shut up Howards! These guys are all going or else they will have to face the wrath of Director Hunt, and she don't play around. Trust me!" Cooper who had maintained uncharacteristically quiet during this entire exchange, came over to everyone and placed both arms around Nick and Judy.

"Nice to see you, Judy," he said to Judy. It was the first time anyone acknowledged that they knew each other already. Judy looked up at the raccoon not entirely sure what to say.

"Hey, trust me, you two are in the best hands the ZIA has to offer. Jack, Koalski and I won't let anything happen to ya! Welcome to the team!"

And without much more to say he half-dragged half-pushed Nick and Judy further into Jack's office.

"Alright, Chief that is all we need you for. Hunt will keep you posted. Thanks for dropping our girl off! See ya later!"

Before Bogo knew what was happening to him, he was being led out of Jack's office and the door slammed shut behind him. Cooper turned around to face the rest of the animals all looking at him with shock.

"What? I was getting tired of all your polite talk and pretending that you don't already know each other! Now!" He clapped his paws together and rubbed them loudly. "Let's do this! Operation Dinosaur commences!"

"Technically reptiles are not related to dinosaurs— ", began Koalski.

"Not interested, that's what I am calling it," replied Cooper walking over to the desk and handing Judy and Nick the large file folders.

"So, Nick, I hear you're pretty funny. What do you think of the name Bernardus?" Cooper looked at Nick like as if he had just asked the most important question in his life.

Nick exchanged a glance with Judy and then replied, "Bernardus? What is that? Long for Bernie?"

Cooper broke out into thunderous laughter. "Yep, you are definitely coming with! I like this guy." He elbowed Jack in the arm, who had been standing there with his arms crossed, frowning at Cooper's lack of professionalism.

"Well then I guess, since that's settled let's do your debriefing and bring Officer Hopps…I mean Judy up to speed on everything," Jack directed. The animals all gathered together in his office. Jack's heart pumping nervously inside his chest. During his presentation, he continued to watch Judy's reactions. Her original anger had seemed to melt away, though she wasn't still entirely looking at him directly. Perhaps he needed to apologize to make everything right again. After all, in order for them to pull this off everything needed to work smoothly. There could be no grudges or harboring ill feelings towards each other.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Nicholas Wilde's life had recently been turned completely upside down ever since that fateful day at Jerry Jumbeaux's ice cream parlor. It was all because of a naïve, fiercely optimistic, cute, little gray bunny. Because of her, he had applied to the police academy, worked hard for the first time in his life and accomplished a goal without swindling, cheating or hustling. A year later here he was sitting in a hotel room, with an armed ZIA officer standing guard outside his door, about to go on a very dangerous secret mission with another fiercely optimistic, annoyingly confident, cryptic rabbit with a ridiculous name.

He sat there on the bed looking at his paws. After Judy's debriefing, they were directed to these rooms inside the ZIA headquarters for quote "their own protection". Their cellphones were taken away from them, "in order to keep the confidentiality of the mission", and they were given cellphones that were direct lines to members of their team. Nick flipped open his cellphone to look at the contacts list.

'Huh, you would think the ZIA could at least afford to give us something a little more modern,' he thought as he flicked through the contacts. He found the name he was looking for and hit the dial button a smug grin playing on his lips as he did so.

The phone rang a few times, before it was picked up. "Savage here. Wilde, what's going on?"

"Yeah, boss, I was just wondering how long did I need to be babysat by Stripes sitting outside my door? I have tried to leave a few times and he doesn't let me, in fact he won't even talk to me. I may need to file a complaint to your HR department there. I am personally feeling victimized due to my species by that zebra. Plus, where is my phone call? I need to phone my roommate if I am going to be heading out on this mission of yours."

Jack sighed with frustration on the other line, causing Nick to grin even wider.

"Look Wilde, I am not the one that placed the guards there. This was all Director Hunt's idea, she is afraid that you will go off and blabber this confidential information. Personally, I think it's a bit over the top. I will see if I can talk to your guard and Judy's to get them to stand down. You will be given free reign of the atrium, lobby and cafeteria, but I am afraid that is the best I can do. As far as a phone call is concerned, I will send Agent Spears to your room so you can make your call."

"I believe Officer Hopps would like to be given the same courtesy," replied Nick, surprised at how easy it was to get what he asked for.

"Yes, I will have Spears go to her room next so she can make the call. If her parents are anything like mine, if she hasn't called in a few days they are already skimming the headlines for her name. Heh."

Nick frowned at Jack's familiarity with Judy's parents. 'Who did this guy think he is,' he thought.

"Yeah, Stu and Bonnie can be real helicopter parents. Not to mention Grandpa Steve and Grandma May." Nick kept his tone casual and friendly as he said this.

"Oh…you are acquainted with Judy's family," Jack asked a hint of emotion in his voice. What was it? Annoyance? Surprise? Jealousy?

Nick leaned back on the bed, placing his free paw behind his head, grinning devilishly.

"Oh yeah! We met once during the Gazelle concert that was thrown in our honor after the Night Howler case. They were there to cheer Judy on and to meet the fox who helped her solve the case. The only one who believed in her by the way, which they were very grateful for…" Nick let that last line sink in.

"I see," responded Jack after a pause.

"Hey, listen, while we are on the subject, since I am Judy's closest friend in Zootopia what _are_ your intentions with her," Nick asked in a nonchalant manner.

"What?! Erm…I…I…don't understand what you are talking about." Jack's frazzled voice and stuttering was all the answer Nick needed.

"Well you know what they say about rabbits. I just assumed that since it's so close to spring time and all…"

Jack cleared his throat loudly interrupting Nick. "I assure you, Officer Hopps and I are strictly friends and work colleagues nothing more. Anything else that you may or may not have heard is not true, and just some fabrication of our mutual friend Stella LeFleur's imagination. So please just drop it. I will be sure to get you what you have asked. Stay in your room until Agent Spears arrives."

Jack hung up the phone on Nick. Nick got up from his bed frowning. 'Heh, deny it all you want Bunny Boy, I know how you rabbits work.' Nick wondered if Judy had picked up on it yet. It seemed pretty obvious to him what was going on. When he first came into the room he had found both rabbits inches apart from each other. Grant it, Judy had on her 'angry' face, but that was not the point. There was no denying the natural chemistry. Not to mention the fact that Savage couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her. The rest of the debriefing he kept glancing at Judy. Unless he was severely misreading the situation, there was no denying it. It was in their biology. When two rabbits of the opposite gender came together the old fable was that they did what they knew best…multiply.

Savage had seemed like an okay guy when Nick had first met him in the interrogation room. He even was impressed by his accomplishment for making it into the ZIA, but now Nick couldn't help but wonder if this rabbit had some sort of double agenda. 'I mean who sends a rabbit on a mission as important as this,' Nick thought to himself. He immediately regretted thinking that way, knowing full well that if Judy ever gained the ability to mind-read she would have pummeled him to a pulp if she knew he had said such hateful things to her species. 'Whatever, I just don't trust him,' Nick thought glumly.

A knock at his door broke his train of thought and he got up to open it. Standing outside with a large black bag was the raccoon, Agent Spears. Nick still wasn't sure what to make of this guy yet, but he seemed to have grown inexplicably fond of him. Something that Nick would use to his advantage during his time on the team.

"Hey Wilde, Jack said you wanted to make a phone call. Be happy to help you out. Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure," replied Nick. He stuck his head out of his room only to find the zebra agent gone. 'Huh, guess that rabbit is good on his word, at least,' he thought to himself as he went back inside his room and closed the door.

"Wilde, here is the deal the Director only is allowing phone calls if they are recorded. It's stupid, but hey those are the rules. You ain't allowed to talk about the mission, where you are, where you are going, who you are going with, and why. All you can say is that you will be gone and that you will let them know when you return. Alright? And if you should break the rules, my job is to cut you off immediately, then we will have to send a group of agents to go get your roommate and it becomes real messy real fast. So, do yourself and me a favor stick to the rules and we all stay happy."

Spears had set up the machine that he had brought in with him on the coffee table in his room. It was a recording device connected to the phone that he had set aside for Nick to use. Nick didn't say anything to the raccoon's instructions. Instead he just picked up the phone and began to dial.

"How long do I have?"

"You get five minutes if you are good," replied the deep throated raccoon.

Nick clicked the dial button once he had pushed in Finnick's digits. The phone rang for a while and it went straight to voicemail. Typical, Finnick didn't recognize the number and therefore didn't answer it. The machine offered for Nick to leave a voicemail. He really wasn't sure what to say, he just wanted to make sure he had a place to crash when and if he got back.

"Hey Finn, it's me Nick. I just wanted to let you know that I came back from my mission and that I am out again on another mission. No rest for the brave and brains I suppose. Listen don't worry about keeping in touch, they don't want us using our personal lines. I will contact you. Hope business is good buddy."

Nick hung up the phone and handed it back over to Spears. Spears took it and placed it back into his bag.

"Well that was easy," he observed. "Guess I have to go and have Hopps do the same thing."

Nick's ears pricked up at the mention of Judy's name. "Where is she at anyways?"

"Oh, she is just down the hall, you can come with me if you want. I understand you two haven't had a chance to catch up."

Nick nodded and followed Spears out the door. Moments later they were knocking at her door. Judy called "Come in".

Spears opened the door and greeted Judy with a husky "Hey Judy, how you holding up".

Judy was sitting on her bed; much the same way Nick had been not too long ago lost in thought. When she looked up; however, her eyes fell on Nick and she broke out into the biggest smile Nick had ever seen.

"I am great now that you are here," she replied back jumping off her bed and in five quick steps was at Nick's side.

Nick could tell she was bursting to hug him again, but because Spears' presence she was trying to restrain herself.

"Jack, said that you are allowed one phone call to let your folks know where you are," explained Spears setting down the gear on her coffee table.

"Oh, great…Cooper would you mind giving me a minute with Nick. I haven't had the chance to catch up and that leopard wasn't let me through before so…"

Spears looked up at Nick and then back at Judy. He smiled as he finished connecting the recording device. "Sure! Sure! I will just be outside take all the time you need, I brought a snack." As he said this he pulled out from another pocket in his bag a container holding what looked to be like bug jerky. He lumbered outside happily taking a big bite from his snack.

Once the door was closed, Judy hugged Nick again much like she had when she first saw him. Nick smiled and hugged her back. For a minute, they were both content just holding each other happy to be back in each other's presence, where they belonged.

"Okay, Carrots, come on how do we know that we are not being video recorded," chuckled Nick as he patted Judy's back.

Judy sniffled a bit, and Nick was surprised to find tears brimming in her eyes as she pulled away from him. "Sorry, I am just really happy to see you, for a moment there I thought something terrible had happened. I just can't believe that you did what you said you did!"

"Awe come on Carrots, you're hurting my feelings. You know despite being a dumb fox, I am quite capable. Didn't graduate top of my class, but hey I can look after myself."

Judy smiled up at him and then walked over to the small couch in her room. She plopped down and sighed happily.

"I still can't believe what is happening here. Can you imagine? A whole other world made up of animals that no one has seen in hundreds of years!"

"Yeah, and once again it's up to our amazing teamwork to stop them!" Nick took a seat beside her on the couch. He was so happy to be next to his best friend again, and even though he wished he could have taken a break from all this adventure, he knew that he wouldn't have let Judy go alone on this mission.

"Nick, listen are you sure you are fit enough to come with us? I know Jack says that you have no choice, but I know the medical examiner, she is a friend. Maybe if I talked to her again we can provide a big enough case as to why you should stay here. I am sure Jack and I could handle this."

Nick's mood soured once again as soon as he heard the words 'Jack and I'. He didn't look at Judy, but instead focused his attention on the ground.

"So when were you going to mention that Jack was a secret agent," he asked coldly.

Judy seemed to be startled by the question. "Well…I…I didn't always know. In fact, I didn't know until the same night that you were brought in. He risked a lot to warn me that I shouldn't be alone that night. I stayed at Stella's and it was there that I figured out their ties to the ZIA. Even Stella used to be an ex-agent. Did you know that?"

Nick looked up at her in surprise. "No, I didn't. I guess animals can change quite a bit. Still Judy you should have been more careful."

"Careful? Careful how?"

"This time you lucked out that these new friends of yours are working on the right side of the law, next time you might not be so lucky."

"Nick, what are you saying?"

"All I am saying is that animals like Savage, Spears, and the others lead a double life therefore you can never tell what is true and what is a lie."

"Okay… thanks Nick, I guess. I am still not sure where you are going with this…but I understand it is their job. And now that we know they are on the right side of the law I am sure there is nothing for us to worry about…"

Judy kept trying to meet Nick's eyes as she said this. Nick sighed with frustration. "Look Judy all I am saying is to be careful, alright and let's just leave it at that."

Nick got up off the couch and walked a few steps away from her. "Oh and by the way, there is no way you are going on this mission without me, so you can save your breath about that. I am coming!" He pointed at himself as he said this. He didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did, but he couldn't help the feeling of jealousy that was bubbling up inside his chest.

Judy got up and hurried to place herself between her friend and the door. She placed both of her paws on his chest causing him to stop in his tracks. "Nick, what's the matter? Have I said something that made you mad? Nick talk to me what's wrong?"

Nick felt stupid for acting the way he was. Perhaps he was still a little shaken up from everything that had happened. He looked down at Judy's pleading eyes, remembering that one day that changed the nature of their friendship forever about two years ago. He forced himself to chuckle and pat Judy on the head.

"Calm down Carrots! I just want to get back at those over-sized lizards for hitting Wolfard with a tranq dart, before I got a chance. Really, it's fine." He gave her a very toothy grin. She raised one eyebrow at him. 'She wasn't buying it.'

Nick was spared being further interrogated by her, by a knock at the door. Judy frowned at Nick, before turning around and opening the door. They were both surprised to see Jack standing there. He was still in his suit pants, however; he had taken off his neck tie, unbuttoned his dress shirt a bit, and taken off his suit jacket. He stood there with both paws inside his pocket.

"Oh! Wilde, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find you here," he said as he stepped inside the room. "I hope I am not interrupting anything."

"No, not at all Nick and I were just catching up… It's been a very long day." Judy turned to look at Nick annoyingly.

"Well, Spears is still waiting outside to make your phone call. I really think you should give your parents a call. This mission is very dangerous and who knows how long we will be away."

Judy nodded and sighed. Nick brushed past her in a motion to leave, but noticed that Jack was still lingering in the doorway. He frowned.

"Um, listen Judy before you make your phone call, I just wanted to apologize for all the secrets," Jack stated in a very professional manner, almost as if he was talking to a customer and he had just rung up her groceries incorrectly.

Nick turned around to see Judy's reaction. She was standing in front of Jack her paws together and her ears drooping. She looked embarrassed.

"It's annoying, but it comes with the job. I hope you understand. You seemed a little bothered earlier today, and I wasn't sure if that was because of us keeping secrets from you."

"It's fine. It's your job, I understand." She avoided Jack's gaze.

Jack sighed then his ears perked up as if an idea had just popped into his head.

"Well let's make some new introductions. My name is Agent Jack Savage I am a field agent specializing in covert missions." He extended his paw to shake Judy's. Nick rolled his eyes, to his surprise Jack's little display worked. Judy finally met Jack's gaze and smiled. She reached out to shake his paw.

"Nice to meet you Agent Savage. Tell me is that your real name or is that a coverup?"

"Of course, it's a coverup," exclaimed Jack happily, obviously pleased at Judy's change of mood. "You must know as well as I, that no self-respecting rabbit would EVER have a crazy name like 'Savage'. That's actually the reason why I chose it. It's always fun to see their expressions when its announced that 'Agent Savage' is coming into the room, and then I walk in."

Jack and Judy both chuckled like old friends. Nick rolled his eyes and glared at that back of Jack's head.

"So, if Savage isn't your real name, what is," Nick questioned coming up behind Jack and placing both paws on his hips.

"Jack Briar," replied Jack with a shrug. "Like I said, rabbits are not well known for having extremely exciting surnames."

Judy nodded in agreement. Nick didn't say anything. Spears came back in asking if Judy was ready for her phone call remarking on the time. Judy agreed readily and asked for privacy. Nick and Jack both left her room. Nick stood awkwardly waiting for Judy's five-minute conversation to be up. Unfortunately, it seemed like Jack had a similar idea. They both stood there awkwardly facing each other in the hallway, neither one of them wishing to initiate the conversation first.

'This is ridiculous what more could he want,' seethed Nick in his mind. 'He already apologized so just give us some space. If this is the way this whole mission is going to be I am not sure if I am going to be able to take it.'

Jack pulled out his phone and started scrolling through it. Nick watched him out of the corner of his eyes. After scrolling for about a minute, Jack put his phone away and looked back up at Nick.

"Wilde, I get the feeling you don't like me very much," stated Jack, his expression unreadable.

Nick paused before answering back. 'No, I don't. I don't like this idea that you are somehow replacing me. Judy's my best friend and my partner. On the other hand, if I were to admit to it, he might tell Judy and then I would have to explain this crazy childish jealousy I am having. Well best put on a show…for now.'

Nick laughed a little too loudly, startling the jack-rabbit a little. "Nah, Savage, I am just tired and over whelmed that's all. You have to understand before I was a police officer, I was a conman, a hustler a…"

"Smuggler, thief, shop-lifter, loiterer and jay-walker?" Jack smirked at Nick's annoyed expression. "Yeah, I know I read up on you, before our interrogation. It's impressive really. You really did a 180. What made you change?"

Nick snorted and slouched up against the wall a little bit. He turned away from Jack and stared at the closed door of Judy's room. "I met someone who believed I could be more than just a sly trickster fox," he answered honestly.

He turned around to look at Jack. "I see," replied Jack thoughtfully, "Hmm, it all makes sense now."

Nick wasn't sure what made sense, but he really didn't care either way. At this moment, the door to Judy's room opened. Spears stepped out followed by Judy who looked a little irritable, a normal reaction after speaking to her parents.

"I take it Stu and Bonnie didn't take your lack of information all too well, Carrots," Nick asked her.

"Nope not at all," she replied glumly.

"Perhaps, you can give them Stella's number," offered Jack. "She could do you the favor of covering up for you?"

Judy's ears perked up at this idea. "Yeah, I think I will do that. Cooper? I know I am only allowed one phone call, but do you think you could let me call one more time?"

"I am going to pretend like I didn't hear any of that," the raccoon replied with a wink handing Judy the phone. She gratefully took it and went inside her room again.

"What are you two losers still doing out here," asked Cooper looking at Jack and Nick.

Jack quickly replied, "I was going to suggest dinner. I am sure we are all hungry. I can order a pizza or Chinese take-out."

"Yeah," cried Cooper rubbing his belly. "I am starved it's been two hours since my last meal. I'll call Koalski."

Jack nodded and Cooper pulled out his phone to dial the koala. Nick watched this whole exchange glumly. Looks like his plans on just seeing Judy by herself was going out the window. Judy came out of her room, a minute later, and handed Cooper back the phone, who was currently on the phone with Koalski.

"Thanks for the suggestion, Jack. My mom was really nervous, but having Stella's number is going to put her mind at ease. It's great to have someone who understands." Judy smiled up at Jack.

Jack grinned back and replied, "No problem. We are two of a kind in the rabbit community, you and I. We have to watch each other's backs when it comes to our overprotective families."

'Ugh… I think I am going to be sick,' thought Nick as Judy grabbed his arm and pulled him over to join the others on their way to the cafeteria. Jack already on the phone ordering take-out and Cooper still arguing with Koalski about whether or not he needed to change his eating habits.

Nick had to hand it to the ZIA, they really did have an ability to get anything that they needed. The following morning Nick woke up to his alarm clock ringing. He awoke to find a bag already packed with extra sets of police uniforms, some of his civilian clothing, toiletries, and a fully loaded tranquilizer pistol with plenty of darts. He got dressed quickly, he couldn't help but be a bit excited…scared as could be…but excited nonetheless. As he was finishing brushing his teeth he heard an excited knock at the door.

'Gee, I wonder who that could be,' he thought to himself sarcastically.

He opened the door to find Judy all ready to go, uniform on and pack slung over one shoulder. It looked like her cheeks were ready to burst from the sheer force that she was smiling at him with. Heh, cute.

"Nick, how are you not ready yet," she demanded literally hopping inside his room.

Nick tried to mumble 'I just have to finish my teeth', but all he managed was to spray a bit of toothpaste everywhere. He turned back around to his sink and finished brushing his teeth. In the reflection of the mirror, he could see Judy stamping her feet impatiently at him.

"You know Carrots, thumping that little foot of yours on the floor is not going to make me go any faster. I have a regimen you know. This handsome face doesn't just happen." He pointed to his face.

"Har, har yes yes very handsome. But come on its time for us to go! We have to get down there to breakfast and we are leaving at 6 am sharp! It's already 5!"

"Carrots," said Nick placing a paw on his heart, "I didn't think you would ever notice the handsome." He poked her in the side as he said this playfully.

Judy rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. "Alright, pretty boy are you done with your ego boost?" She was attempting to pick up both of their bags as she said this.

"Almost," he replied grabbing his bag back from her and slinging it over his shoulder. "Before we go you must answer me one question."

Judy huffed in frustration. "Fine, what is it?"

"Carrots, Carrots, from down the hall who is the fairest fox of them all?" He smiled devilishly at her.

Judy rolled her eyes, pulled on his tie to lower him down so she whispered in his ear, "Finnick."

"Oh! Now that's just cruel!"

"Serves you right, now let's go!" She pulled him along by the tie and headed out the door.

They met up with the rest of their team in the cafeteria. Cooper, Jack, and Koalski were all wearing the ZIA's trademark black suits, white shirts, and black ties. They each had packs sitting beside them.

"Cooper, why do you have a pack," asked Judy pointing down at the great bag by the raccoon's feet, "I thought you were staying here."

"Oh, this is not for me. These are your gadgets! Come on you can't expect to be part of a ZIA mission without receiving cool gadgets! I am in charge of getting you all set up with your radios, cameras, etc., so actually I will be joining you on the ship, but flying back home via helicopter. The perks of being an analyst. You never have to get messy, and you get to sit in a chair all day eating as many chips as you want!"

"Cooper, I insist that you really look at your diet intake," said Koalski, "Melanie has already told you that if you continue down this path you will be leaving this world via heart attack and clogged arteries."

"Shut up Koalski, nobody asked your input," growled Cooper. "I am starved let's eat!"

They were joined for breakfast by Melanie and Stella who was dying to see them off. The lively group of mammals all sat down eating sharing stories, opinions, and theories on the reasons behind the reptile attacks.

"Perhaps, their economy is not as stable as ours is," mentioned Melanie sweetly, "that's why they feel the need to steal."

"I say it's laziness," insisted Cooper in between bites of waffles, "reptiles don't want to go through the hard work."

"I seriously doubt that, sugar. Why on earth would they want to steal. From what Nicky said they are obviously good swimmers and have all the hardware to catch fish. My guess is that there is a big secret that their president, doesn't wish for us to know about." Stella sipped daintily from her cup of coffee and looked at each of them in the eye.

Nick had a feeling that his old friend had hit it right on the nose. Breakfast was over far too quickly. There was a car waiting to take the team members out to the docks. Melanie and Stella walked them out of the building to wish them goodbye. Melanie gave each of her friends a hug, and Nick a 'good luck'. Stella, being the vivacious female that she was, made a grand show of holding and kissing each one of her friends on the cheek all the while whispering something in their ears that only they could hear.

When it was Nick's turn, Nick couldn't help but grin a little sheepishly as Stella wrapped her arms around his neck and her fluffy tail around his body in a very protective manner.

"Nicky…Nick you need to be careful you hear? I know you are strong, you are capable, and if nothing else you are the cleverest fellow I have ever met. You use that big brain of yours while you are out there."

"Uh…sure thing Stella," replied Nick, struggling a bit to free himself from her grasp. Stella pulled away from him for a moment, but kept her paws on his arms. Jack, Judy and Koalski were already placing their bags inside the car, Cooper had run back inside claiming to have forgotten something important. Judy was laughing at something Jack had said as he offered to take her bag. She glanced over at Nick and Stella and frowned. Nick felt that familiar pang of guilt again in the pit of his stomach.

"Nick," Stella's urgent tone caused Nick to return his attention to her. "I know you are used to working with Judy, but I need you to trust Jack. I also need you to watch out for him. He normally likes to do these sorts of things solo ever since my accident. He still thinks it's his fault that I hurt my back the way I did. Even if he is partially to blame, it's dangerous for him to go out alone. Promise me that you and Judy will reteach him the value of teamwork? Promise me!" Stella's blue eyes were staring directly into Nick's green ones. Nick smiled and gently pulled her paws off his arms.

"I promise, Stel. Nothing will happen to Bunny Boy."

"Good," she said and then pulled Nick down by his tie, to plant him a kiss on the cheek. Nick, surprised by this sign of affection, chuckled nervously and blushed under his red fur.

Stella giggled. "Oh, and a word of advice. Don't call him that he will have you seeing stars before you can say 'shoulda listened to Stella'."

"OKAY…well thanks Stel! I will see you later." Nick hurried away clumsily and placed his bag in the trunk of the car. He opened the passenger door and took a seat beside Judy in the back row. Absent-mindedly he rubbed his cheek in the spot where Stella had kissed him. 'Sheesh, that girl, could never control herself around other males,' he thought. He glanced down at Judy who was scrolling through a tablet containing the different species of reptiles that they might find. She seemed focused on what she was doing, not looking up at him.

'Really, hope she didn't see any of that,' Nick thought altogether not sure why he thought it.

"I see Stella is very fond of you," grinned Jack from the front row. Nick just laughed nervously and shrugged.

"It's alright, we all know how…friendly she can be," continued Jack with a smirk. "Just be glad Cooper didn't see you."

Nick looked back out the window. Cooper had returned with a lunchbox (the very important item). He gave Melanie a quick hug good bye, then he turned to Stella. Nick couldn't hear what Cooper said to her, but whatever it was Stella wasn't happy about it. She crossed her arms and turned away from him slapping him in the face with her tail as she did so. Cooper walked down the remaining steps almost as if in a daze. When he opened the passenger door he slid into the middle seat beside Jack, who was shaking his head at the raccoon's antics.

"Yep she digs me," Cooper said with a sigh.

Nick, Judy, Jack, and Koalski up in the passenger seat alongside the driver all shook their heads.

The car sped off and as the buildings of Zootopia zoomed by them the atmosphere in the car became quite tense. Nick was sure that each mammal was now fully coming to grips with the mission at hand. Even Judy stopped pretending to look at the tablet and ventured a worried look in Nick's direction, nose twitching. Nick just nodded at her, and then pulled out his favorite pair of aviators.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Alright let's go over this again," sighed Koalski pushing back his glasses and slapping his pointer at the projector screen. "What are the different kinds of subgroups of reptiles?"

Judy's arm shot into the air, like she was back in school. She glanced over at Nick sitting beside her at the table. His paw was cupping his head and it looked like he was trying hard to stay awake.

'How on earth did he make it past the police academy with that lazy attitude,' she thought to herself.

"Officer Hopps, I think you have exhibited your extensive knowledge on this subject matter," said Koalski in his flat voice. "Perhaps we should let Senator Prickson have a turn?"

Judy blushed a bit and lowered her arm. She glanced over to her other side at the nervous and twitchy hedgehog beside her. Senator Prickson looked like she was about to have a heart attack looking at the images of the different reptiles on the screen. Her secretary, a finicky and distrusting squirrel, named Sandy Nutley, was furiously scribbling away on her clipboard, who knows what. Judy honestly had no idea why out of all the senators in Mammalia the President had assigned these two to represent all mammals. The two of them together looked like they would faint at the first contact with the reptiles.

"Senator, please I must inform you that it is important for you to know this, so as not to appear disrespectful towards our hosts. I must insist on you knowing this information." Koalski was practically begging the skittish hedgehog.

"Well I don't see why we can't have a radio in my ear and you just feed the information to me," she demanded pushing her own red horn rimmed glasses up her nose. "I have never encountered any of these creatures, how can you expect me to become an expert? They all look rather the same to me."

Judy glanced back up at the screen in disbelief. On screen was an alligator, a turtle, iguana, and snake. How on earth could she claim that they all looked the same!

"Senator, if I may, I believe what Agent Howards is trying to say is that, this is the first time that we are encountering these creatures. Surely, the more knowledge we have of them beforehand the better. It would make a better impression of us mammals. I know this is frightening, but they are willing to reach out to us peacefully. I am sure that not all of the reptiles that we encounter will be half as bad as the ones, Officer Wilde had to face." Judy looked over at Nick and shaking her head towards the Senator, as if to say 'help me'.

Nick looked annoyed, but he obliged her. "Listen, Senator I was there, I got a chance to see these animals for myself and believe me they were… impressive. Agent Howards, has assured us that the majority of these animals are actually no bigger than a squirrel." He indicated her secretary who gave him a humph and continued to scribble on her clipboard. "I don't know about you, but I feel pretty relieved to be going somewhere where you will be towering over the majority of the citizens and not the other way around."

This seemed to calm Senator Prickson quite a bit. "It _would_ be nice to not have to constantly be looking up, ay Ms. Nutley?"

"Yes, ma'am," replied the young squirrel curtly.

She turned towards Koalski. "Is this true?"

Koalski shifted his eyes around a bit. "Well… they are not shall we say anywhere near the size of an antelope or even a sheep. There are a few species that can be quite large, but they are the minority in their class. Most of the lizards, snakes, turtles, even frogs, newts and salamanders are smaller than Officer Hopps here, much smaller."

Senator Prickson looked back over at Ms. Nutley. "Well I suppose that is better and smaller than what we are all used to… I think I will take you up on the offer for a break Agent Howards. Ms. Nutley and I will retire to our rooms for about an hour. Please understand, this is really a lot to take in…some would say too much. But we have been chosen and we will perform our duties."

She nodded over to the squirrel who quickly got up and held the door open for the hedgehog. They both headed out down the hall, whispering between the two of them.

Judy sighed and glanced over at Nick. Nick rolled his eyes and glanced back up at the projector screen. She saw him shiver at the sight of the enormous crocodile. Judy wandered what was going through his mind.

"I believe we should all follow the Senator's example and take a momentary break from all of this," stated Koalski. "We should be arriving soon into the city, and we are still not sure what to expect. Jack has been on the phone all day with the Terraria homeland security department. It seems that they aren't all too familiar with the kind of animals that are coming to visit them either. He keeps having to reassure them that the mammals on the job are naturally gentle creatures and those who do eat meat stick to the fish and bug protein diet."

Nick scoffed and without another word left the room, Judy close on his heels. They made their way on to the upper deck. It was a very sunny day, the temperature was high, and even though there was a light breeze it was still warm. Judy and Nick had found earlier a little corner of the ship that was left relatively undisturbed. An oversized lifeboat allowed them to have a little bit of privacy, something that they hadn't had too much of since they had joined the ZIA team. It seemed that there was always someone milling about trying to keep an eye on them. They both assumed it was under orders of the untrusting Director Hunt. Once they had reached their spot, Nick pulled out his aviators and put them on as he casually leaned up against the bannister looking down at the sea below.

Judy was very impressed when she first boarded the ship on the first day. It was her first time on a boat or ship and she was happy to be able to share the experience with her good friends both old and new. Unfortunately, it hadn't lasted long as she suffered a bad bout of seasickness the first few days out on the open water. Cooper had produced a bottle of handy pills that allowed her stomach to stop regurgitating back up her meals. However, the pain in her stomach never seemed to fully go away. It gargled now angrily as she joined Nick on the railing.

"You know, Carrots, if you still feel seasick we don't have to be up here," Nick said in a concerned voice.

"Nah, the open air helps my stomach feel better. Besides have you seen the number of cameras that are on this ship? I wouldn't be surprised that there is one in my room! I have to change inside the bathroom, every time." Judy shivered a bit. "Makes me nauseous thinking that there might be some ZIA agent watching me sleep."

Nick chuckled. "I am pretty sure they are more concerned with other things than watching a cute gray bunny sleep. The world doesn't revolve around you, Carrots."

Judy frowned at him. There he went using that word again. "Nick, I have told you before you can't call me cute. And I know that. It's just still disconcerting all the same."

Nick looked down at her, as if he was about to ask something, thought better of it and continued to gaze out on the ocean.

"What do you suppose this new city is going to be like," asked Judy her nose twitching as she smelled the salty air of the ocean.

Nick shrugged. "No idea, Koalski told us that this city of theirs is eighty percent underground. It's located inside and below a large canyon, surrounded on one side with a lush tropical jungle and the other side barren desert. I would assume that the majority of the city is dark or perhaps they have an extensive network of lighting."

"It's all so very different, yet exciting! Do you think the citizens are going to welcome us?"

Nick laughed in a mocking manner. "I seriously doubt it. Probably going to be a lot of oogling and aweing at us. I am just hoping that we don't get turned into crazy science experiments for their researching pleasure."

They both stood silent watching the water. Judy's thoughts returned back to Nick's reaction upon seeing the picture of the crocodile.

"Nick…do you think you are going to be okay if you encounter another one of those crocodiles," she asked cautiously eyeing his every move.

Nick's aviators shielded his expression from her, but his ears flattened a bit at her question.

"Koalski, says that the probability of seeing one of them is few. Apparently, this place is more segregated than Zootopia. The small group of larger reptiles mostly live in their own communities outside of main Terraria. They prefer living close to water and need larger homes that are out in the sun and not underground. But even so I get the feeling that we are going to have to deal with them eventually…so…". He shrugged his shoulders. He continued to stare out at the ocean and the expansive sky above it.

Judy placed a paw on his arm, much like she had that day on the rainforest lift after Nick had stood up for her. Nick looked down at her paw with his other hand took off his aviators and rested them on his head. His expression was hard to read, it almost looked like he was in some sort of daze. Perhaps he was even reliving that night when he was all alone in that cold fish locker. Judy was sure he had never imagined one of those great beasts coming down that ladder.

"It's okay to be afraid you know," she said softly looking up at his green eyes.

"I won't be this time," Nick replied, holding her gaze and gently placing his free paw on hers in a comforting way.

"Why is that?" Judy gave him a small smile.

"This time I'll have you beside me," he replied softly.

Judy's heart skipped a beat at his words. Nick immediately pulled away from her as if she had just shocked him or something.

"That is…um…I meant…you and the…team. Ha ha! You know since last time I was alone in the fish locker and no radio communication, no backup. This time I will have backup…with you and the whole ZIA!" He laughed again nervously scratching the back of his ears as he said so. He turned away from her and replaced his aviators on his nose.

Judy sat there blinking, not really understanding what had just happened between the two of them. Had they just shared a moment? No way, this is Nick after all. 'He is my best friend. Probably just still in shock and happy to be back with a partner he can trust…must be'. Judy looked back at Nick who seemed very preoccupied with fixing his tie. 'Then again there was that look that he gave me...it was…different.'

"Nick, are you sure you are okay," she asked placing a paw on his shoulder. Nick wriggled away from her touch and tried to put on his charming smile again.

"I guess I am just glad that I have you back on my team. Can always count on you, Miss Top-of-Your-Class."

He smiled at her nervously. Judy was not convinced, it was almost like he was hiding something. He was acting fidgety and twitchy… it was so not like Nick.

Judy's phone at her waist began to vibrate.

"Oh, thank heavens," whispered Nick leaning back up against the railing.

Judy looked at the caller id. It was Jack. She groaned a bit, knowing full well it was probably yet another debriefing meeting. Jack was probably the most organized rabbit she had ever met. It was her understanding that this was his first time leading a mission, a job that he was taking very seriously. They had already had about six meetings in the four days they had been aboard the ship. Each time, Jack had been prepared with a power point presentation, folders, and, to everyone's dismay, study material. The meetings were mostly made up of the team members, and only one had taken place in the presence of Senator Prickson and her faithful secretary. He was thorough…very thorough.

Judy clicked the phone on and held it to her ear.

"Hopps, speaking," she said looking over at Nick who was rubbing his temples with his fingers, apparently also annoyed at the jack-rabbit's thoroughness.

"Judy, where are you two? The captain says we are only about seventy miles away from Terraria. We still don't know if these waters are safe or not. I need you and Wilde to be at the Senator's side at all times. Do not leave the Senator's side for any reason, unless if I tell you two otherwise."

"Yes, Jack, I understand. We will be heading back down below deck."

She hung up the phone and looked over at Nick. "We got to go, Jack says that we are only seventy miles away from Terraria. He wants us to officially no longer leave Senator Prickson's side."

Nick groaned before standing up straight, his aviators back on shielding his eyes. "Alright, let's go Carrots, before Bunny Boy decides to send out a search party for us," said Nick leading the way back to the lower deck of the ship.

Judy watched Nick for a moment. It seemed like he was back to his old confident self. Even his strut was back. Hmm…didn't matter it was probably just nerves. 'To be honest I am nervous too, way more than I let on,' she thought to herself.

She sighed heavily as she placed her phone back on her belt. Hearing Jack's voice brought back the same feelings of jealousy she had originally felt that night in Stella's apartment. After she had figured out the true identities of her new friends, she couldn't help but feel jealous. Jealous of the title and accomplishments they had. Jealous of the chances to travel and see new places. Jealous of the prestige that came with the position of being a member of the ZIA. For so long, Judy thought that accomplishing her dream of being the first bunny cop was a huge stepping stone for her species and other smaller mammals. Now she felt like a small child playing dress up, while other mammals like Jack and Stella were off risking their lives every day and saving not only the animals around them, but the entire country of Mammalia. She had felt so stupid, even ashamed of being proud of her own accomplishments.

Of course, it wasn't Jack's fault. He was very courteous and gallant about her accomplishments with her. Still, Judy felt that she couldn't compare her own accomplishments to his. It was for this reason that she had been distant with Jack initially when she was first asked to join the mission. She had been grateful towards him for trying to make amends and attempt to cheer her up that night in her room. Even so, those feelings of jealousy remained gnawing away at her. As they descended the stairs below deck, Judy shook the feelings of jealousy and self-pity away. She would turn this around on its head and have it serve as motivation for reaching her goals of detectives.

'Who knows,' she thought as she watched Nick's long red tail bobbing back and forth behind him as he walked, 'perhaps a new set of goals is in order…'.

 _A few hours later…_

Judy and Nick were both outside of Senator Prickson's and Ms. Nutley's rooms. The two room were on opposite sides of the hallway which made guarding them very easy. So far, bodyguarding was not at all what it was cracked up to be. In fact, it took all Judy and Nick had not to yawn or fidget as they watched over the Senator. Since they were still on the ZIA ship there was not much bodyguarding to be done. Not to mention the fact that the place was filled with cameras. The conversation was, if possible, even more boring than the activity. Judy just couldn't fathom how on earth this nervous, spineless individual had gone up in life and secured the spot of a member of the Senate. Jack had mentioned earlier that Prickson had an impressive political lineage, and wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that she gained that position because of said lineage. Even so, that wouldn't account for the endless drabble of nonsense that came out of the hedgehog's mouth when she chose to strike up conversations with her secretary.

'If our hope relies on this hedgehog making some sort of agreement with the reptile community, we are royally screwed,' Judy had thought irritably as she had observed the pair giggling over the latest quizzes found in a gossip magazine during meals.

Nick was probably having a harder time of it, than Judy. Ms. Nutley, the secretary, seemed to be a bit prejudiced against foxes or perhaps it was just preds in general. It was a trait that many squirrels harbored Judy had learned while living out in Bunnyburrow. Squirrels avoided other predators like they were carrying some form of disease. Nick had been quick to pick up on it, when Ms. Nutley had accidentally dropped her apple on the floor, which he had picked up and offered it to her. She quickly refused and told him that he could have it instead. Judy had told Nick that maybe she was just a bit OCD and had a thing against germs. He didn't buy it. In true Nick fashion, the sly fox had decided to make himself Ms. Nutley's official body guard taking care that he followed her wherever she went, while keeping a respectful distance of course. Whenever she would turn around to glare at him, he would give her his toothiest smile possible always make her jump and run back to Prickson's side.

Now it was eleven pm and the Senator and her secretary had gone to bed over an hour ago, leaving Nick and Judy with not much to do except sit outside the hallways, and come up with ways to keep each other awake. Jack, Koalski, and Cooper were nowhere to be seen. Judy had called them earlier to see if they needed anything to which, Jack had replied that they were providing plenty of help by standing watch over the Senator. Needless to say, this did not help Judy's growing sense of jealousy in the slightest. Nick seemed to be handling it better, he had convinced Cooper to install a game on his ZIA issued cell phone earlier, Mouse Run, and was busy playing it. Judy had never been one for video games, but she remembered seeing a small bookshelf in the mess hall dining area.

"Be back, Nick, I am going to run over to the mess hall and look for a book to read," she said getting up from her position on the floor.

"Sure thing," replied Nick happily tapping away on his phone, "could you do me a favor and see if they have anything to eat, if I am going to make it for the next hour or so, I am going to need some munchies."

"Sure thing," replied Judy heading down the hall. They were only supposed to stay outside the Senators door till 1 am. Afterwards, they could return to their rooms, which were adjacent to the hedgehog's and squirrel's. Judy couldn't wait for her head to hit that pillow. It had been a long day.

When she rounded the corner, she was surprised to see that the motion sensor lights of the mess hall were on. Coming a little closer, she was even more surprised to see a figure slumped forward head on the table. Cautiously, Judy took out her tranq gun and tiptoed over to the particular table. When she was only about ten feet away she lowered her tranq gun. It was Jack, sound asleep head laying on the table on top of a file folder with paperwork strewn across the table, a half-eaten dinner plate of food shoved carelessly to one side.

Judy chuckled to herself at finding Agent Jack Savage in such a vulnerable position. She carefully placed her gun back in its holster and walked up to him. He was laying on the side of his head, breathing deeply, his back rising and falling with each breath. He was using his arms as a makeshift pillow. Judy couldn't help, but admire his handsome features, and wondered if not for the first time if those striped markings on his face were real or if they were tattoos. She didn't have the nerve to ask, and quite honestly was hoping someone like Nick would ask the question for her.

Her eyes wondered away from his face, to the paperwork underneath his arms. They looked like a series of blueprints of buildings and even a map. Could this be the map of Terraria? Cooper had said he was working hard to hack into their systems so he could get access into the city's plan and layout. Perhaps this was some of the fruits of his labor.

Judy gently placed a finger on the map with the intention to draw it out from underneath Jack without disturbing him. As soon as she bent over him, Jack's eyes snapped open and he immediately grabbed Judy by the back of her uniform and flipped her over the table and onto the floor on the other side. Judy hit the floor hard, knocking the wind right out of her. She barely had time to register what had happened before Jack had deftly jumped over the table and pinned her down using his legs, his plastic fork that he had been using poised to strike only centimeters away from Judy's face.

Judy groaned with pain and surprise. For a moment, it seemed that all the two rabbits could do was just stare at one another, both breathing hard.

"Judy," Jack asked as if it had just registered who it was that he had so violently thrown and pinned down.

"That's me," she managed to gasp out.

"What were you doing…" Jack trailed off and looked around him.

"I was just about to wake you. You fell asleep on the table. Bad idea." Judy managed to smile a bit.

Jack lowered the plastic fork. It was almost as if he was still waking up. "Oh gosh, I am so sorry… I have been up all night for the past three nights and I think it just finally caught up with me…"

"I understand," replied Judy. "Do you mind? You are surprisingly heavy."

Jack glanced down at his knees where they were pinning down her legs. His fur turned from white to red faster than you could say 'awkward'.

"Of course… of course…my mistake…it's just all the…the…training…Here."

He gently got off of her and offered her a paw. Judy was still in a bit of a daze after the unexpected knockout to the floor. She slowly took his offered paw and looked up at him as she did so. Later on, Judy wouldn't be sure if it was because she had bumped her head hard or if it was because she was so tired, or both, but she could have sworn that at that moment she saw little twinkling stars around Jack's handsome face. They held paws for a brief moment before he pulled her back up with ease. It seemed almost magical.

Jack led her to a chair and helped her to sit down. Judy sat down gingerly her back hurting still a little bit, and the stars around Jack's face still twinkling.

"Judy, I am so sorry! I guess I should have warned you to never attempt to awaken a sleeping agent. The end result almost always is the same, it's all part of the training…Is your back okay? How about your head…you don't look fine?"

Judy's head rolled a bit from side to side. Jack placed a paw on her cheek to steady it. At his touch, Judy looked up again. She was no longer feeling as dizzy as she had before, and the twinkly stars had seemed to disappear. Immediately she became aware of Jack's closeness to her, his paw at her cheek, his gray eyes inches away from her… She quickly pulled away from him, ears drooping in embarrassment and cheeks flushing bright red.

"Judy, are you sure you are okay," he asked again.

Judy nodded willing to slow the beating of her heart down, which was drumming so loudly she was afraid he might hear it. Jack pulled up a chair beside hers and plopped himself down, sighing and rubbing his temples as he did.

"Are you okay," she asked.

"I would be lying if I told you I was," he answered her, glancing back over the pile of paperwork.

"Did Cooper manage to get some information for you all to look at," Judy asked feeling that it was safest to talk about work, after such an awkward encounter.

"Yeah, he…he did. It's part of the city plans and the layout of some of the more important political buildings… Judy look I feel terrible about what I did. Is there any way I can make it up to you?" His eyes showed deep concern and shame. Judy smiled and blushed. Even work was not keeping his distracted from what had just happened.

"Well…you can fill me in on what is keeping you up at night," she answered back slowly.

Jack looked away. He stared back at the file folder, drumming his fingers on the table in front of him. 'He is weighing the options of whether he should tell me or perhaps how much he should tell me,' Judy thought.

He turned back around after a moment and looked Judy squarely in the face. "I haven't been entirely honest with you Judy," he began.

Judy raised an eyebrow, questioningly.

Jack sighed before continuing. "There is a second mission that is off the books, it was issued to me by Director Hunt herself. You see she doesn't trust that the good senator is going to make much leeway with the politicians of the reptile community. President Trunk and President Caius had already spoken briefly and the latter had ensured the former that there was no such illegal activity happening in Terraria."

"So that means, there may be something going on under the government's nose that even they may not be aware of," put in Judy furrowing her brows.

Jack nodded. "Or they are hiding something. Naturally Hunt wants us to find out what is really going on during our stay here. The problem with this is that this means that the team will have to separate. You and Wilde were assigned to be the body guards of Prickson and Nutley, so therefore you are already tied up. Koalski would have come with me to do some further investigation, but Prickon's stubbornness and attitude towards the reptiles in general, makes it dangerous to leave her alone and unsupervised. Then of course, that leaves me. Well Cooper and I, since he will be working as my analyst and be my ears and eyes."

"But Jack, you can't really intend to go off on your own!"

"I don't see any other option," replied Jack. "I have already tried many calls to the other members of their intelligence agencies and federal bureaus, but no one seems willing to help me by answering any of my questions. It could be that they are distrusting of a mammal, which I can hardly say I don't blame them. So, there is nothing left for it, but to do a little digging on my own." He shrugged as if this was the most casual thing to do.

Judy stared at Jack in disbelief. 'Was he crazy? How on earth was he going to manage that?' Then another part of her, the part that usually led the way when it came to challenges was practically screaming, 'there is no way you are leaving me behind in this!'

"Jack," Judy said firmly taking a hold of his wrist, "you cannot do this alone. First, it's not like you can blend in. You will be the only rabbit in the entire city, you will stick out like a sore thumb! Second, what will happen if you get yourself into trouble and you need backup? If we don't even know where you are how can we reach you?"

She took her hand off his wrist and stood up straight and proud. "Let me come with you," she exclaimed.

Jack looked up at her, one eyebrow up in disbelief. "Judy…"

"Let me come with you! Listen on my first case as a ZPD officer, I had to do the job of detective, officer, and even meter maid, all at once. I was the top of my class at the Academy and my skills in detective work were exceptional! I am your bunny, I am your partner! Come on… you owe me one after tossing me to the floor the way you did. Please!"

Judy placed held her paws together and hopped a bit as she stared at Jack using her puppy eyes. Jack didn't say anything at all for a moment. He just continued to stare at her with wide eyes and disbelief. Finally, he grinned at her and nodded his head.

"Yes!" Judy jumped up in the air. It was finally happening she was going to be able to use her detective skills on this case and not just waste away in front of closed doorways.

Jack chuckled at Judy's excitement. He got up from his chair and just watched her celebrate.

"Who knew that you got so excited so easily," he observed, looking at her with his paws casually placed back in his pockets.

"It doesn't take a lot to make this bunny happy," admitted Judy barely able to contain her excitement. "Besides I forgot to mention my third reason why you wouldn't be able to go on this mission alone."

"Oh, and what's that?"

Judy smiled at him slyly before saying, "I promised your ex-partner Stella that I wouldn't let you go on a mission alone. She said if you did she would tell the whole world what you told her that one night when you had a little too much to drink."

Jack pulled his hands out of his pockets immediately and began to panic. "She wouldn't!"

"Oh, she would," replied Judy playfully as she sashayed her way around the nervous Jack on her way to grab an uneaten chip still on his plate.

Jack cleared his throat and seemed to recover himself. "Guess I have no choice," he admitted, laughing nervously.

Judy was curious to know what the big secret was. Perhaps one day, Stella would spill the beans. Who knows maybe it was about those striped cheeks of his.

"So are you going to be heading off to bed then," asked Jack collecting his half-eaten dinner and throwing it away.

Judy looked back up at the clock. She still had about forty minutes left, before she could get to bed. Hooray, guard duty. Suddenly she remembered the whole reason why she had come into the mess hall in the first place. She quickly went over to the pantry to see if she could spot any of Nick's favorite snacks. A bag of microwavable popcorn caught her eyes. She grabbed it, ripped open the outer plastic, and placed the bag in the microwave. She turned around to see Jack watching her, an amused smile playing on his li

ps.

"Sorry, I have only a few more minutes and I promised Nick I would bring him back a snack to hold him over." Judy held up her hands as if to say, 'what you gonna do'.

"Yeah, I know," said a familiar voice at the door. Judy and Jack both jumped and turned around. Standing at the door was Nicholas Wilde himself looking deeply annoyed.

"I was wondering what was holding you up, Carrots," he continued as he walked inside the room stopping a few feet away from the surprised rabbits, "thought something must have happened so I came to investigate." He looked pointedly at Jack. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to find you here."

Jack scowled a bit. "What are you implying, Wilde."

"Never mind," shrugged Nick grumpily, pushing past Jack to stand in front of the popping popcorn.

Judy started to get worried a bit. 'How long was he standing there? Did he hear anything about her arrangement with Jack?' She knew all too well that Nick would never agree to letting her go off on this sort of mission without him, even if it was with Jack. He would probably think it was too dangerous and become obnoxiously over protective again, like he was when he was assigned to be on a fishing boat and not her. 'Sweet cheese and crackers, I really didn't think this through. What am I going to do? If I go with Jack in Terraria and not tell Nick he will be worried sick and might even come after me. If I do tell him, he might make a huge scene and our cover will be blown. If only he could come with us…but Jack is right his job is beside the Senator. Way to go Hopps, how are you going to get yourself out of this one?!'

She looked back up at Nick. His popcorn had finished popping and he was occupied with gingerly opening the bag without getting burned by the steam. Hmm, he seemed to be acting normal. Perhaps his annoyance was just coming from a place of hunger? Judy glanced back over at Jack who for some reason was looking very annoyed at the fox. His arms were crossed and his right foot was stamping the floor.

Nick watched Jack's foot with an amused expression. After swallowing the popcorn, he had in his mouth he chuckled. "Hey, look Carrots, he does the angry bunny stomp too! You bunnies are too funny."

Both Judy and Jack looked up at the fox in frustration. They both attempted to correct him at the same time.

"I've told you before Nick you can't walk around saying things like that!"

"I'll have you know I am not a bunny, but a jack rabbit, Fox!"

"Woah, woah, woah… I think it's past _somebody's_ bed time. Time for the two little snuggle bunnies to head back to bed. It's practically 1 am anyways." He popped another popcorn kernel in his mouth and gave them both a sly smile.

Judy was mad at him. What was his deal? Why was he acting like such a jerk?

"Come on Hopps, we have a long day of standing outside doors ahead of us tomorrow. Good night, ' _jack rabbit'_." As he said the word jack rabbit, he made quotation marks with his fingers.

Jack gritted his teeth at Nick's antics. Judy was ready to give Nick a piece of her mind. Nick led the way out of the mess hall, still popping popcorn into his open mouth.

Judy turned to Jack quickly. "Sorry, I am not sure what is going on with him. He's is probably just tired and frustrated with Nutley…I'll talk to him. Good night and thank you." Without waiting for Jack to respond, she hurried off after Nick.

She walked alongside Nick in silence for the moment, the only sounds were his crunching his midnight snack. Once they were safely out of earshot and right outside their rooms, did Judy venture to face her best friend.

"Just what was up with that," she demanded standing between him and the door.

"It's called being 'hangry', Hopps, look it up on Zoogle sometime," he replied rudely pulling out his key and trying to get passed her to unlock his room.

"Nick, I know you better than anyone else. That…that episode was _not_ just you being hangry!" Judy stood directly in front of the door lock and glared up at him, her paws balled up in fists.

"You are right, Hopps. It wasn't. Now can you move aside please. I really don't want to get into this with you right now."

Judy's gasped. He knows. He heard something. She looked away from him a moment, ashamed at having to keep a secret from him. Still, that didn't mean he had to act like such a jerk.

"Nick, listen I don't want to leave things like this. I really want to talk to you about this."

"Yeah, well I am tired and I really don't feel like talking about it. What I really want more than anything else is to go inside my room and get some sleep. I will ask again, Hopps, please move!"

Nick almost bared his teeth at her when he said this. This startled Judy a bit, and reluctantly stepped aside, her ears and head drooping.

"Thank you," mumbled Nick as he unlocked his room and opened the door just enough for him to squeeze in. Before he closed the door on her, he sighed, his head hanging low, and his tail laying completely flat on the floor. He took one more look at Judy before he closed the door. Judy's heart broke at what she saw in those green eyes. Hurt. Pain. Betrayal. The same emotions she had seen that day when she was interviewed about the Night Howler case.

Judy's eyes filled with tears and she let out an involuntary small sob. "Not again," she whispered into her paws as she stood before the closed door.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Hello, everyone I have been relatively silent thus far, but thank you for all your support. It's been a while since I have written a fanfiction, and I am determined to finish this one. With that being said, I just felt it fair to forewarn you all that since its June I will not be able to update as often as I would like, because I need to study for a test in August. I just ask for patience and maybe even some reviews to keep me motivated to finish! I will finish it! I have also been getting hit pretty badly with writer's block so any suggestions will also be appreciated.

Ch. 11

Nick could not go to sleep that night, no matter how hard he tried. His mind kept racing and replaying the words that Judy had said to Savage _I am your bunny, I am your partner!_ He replayed in his mind how happy Judy had seemed when Jack had agreed for her to join him. Nick scoffed at the thought. He wasn't altogether sure what bothered him more: Judy's annoying need to _always_ be in the middle of everything (including danger) or that conniving, hormonal 'jack-rabbit'…

Nick sighed as he slowly got out of bed. He had sulked all night about what he had seen, that he was quite frankly exhausted. He ambled over to the bathroom mirror and stared at his red-eyed reflection. Nick knew that he couldn't stay mad at Judy forever. There was a job that needed to be done, duties to be performed… No matter how upsetting it was to him that Judy would rather spend time with her new pal, Jack, then her old friend Nick, he needed to focus. In the end, what was it to him that the two rabbits were naturally seeking each other's company? It was in their biology. That's what rabbits are known for isn't it? Their love for eating carrots and… he shuddered…their skills at "multiplying".

"Whatever, I am not going to let this ruin my friendship with her," he grumbled out loud, splashing cold water on his face. "If she wants to waste her time with Mr. Hotshot-Secret-Agent then fine by me. She will realize sooner or later that you can't trust animals that live double lives…and he is no different…"

'I will just be sure to be there to pick up the pieces when it's over,' he thought to himself.

Nick glanced back over at the clock. It was about five minutes before his alarm was supposed to ring. He lumbered back over to his bed and laid down, deciding to try to get some rest for the last five minutes…

A harsh knocking sound at his door, woke Nick up. He looked over at the alarm clock. Eight o'clock. He frowned. Stupid alarm never went off. Well, at least he managed to get _some_ sleep. The angry knock came again. Nick got up and walked over to the door as slowly as possible. He opened the door, expecting to see Judy standing there with eyes of worry, but he was met with the cold stone stare of Jack Savage already wearing his agent's outfit and carrying a black briefcase.

Nick scowled down at his unwelcomed visitor.

"Well, well, well fancy seeing you here, boss," he said icily.

"Wilde, are you aware of what time it is," demanded Savage frowning up at him.

"Yeah, sorry chief, must have overslept," Nick replied nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.

Savage sighed and looked down at Nick's half naked body and boxers. He shook his head disapprovingly. Nick looked down and mockingly gasped as if it was the first time that he had noticed he wasn't dressed.

"Oopsie, my bad, sir. Here why don't I step inside and get a little more decent, eh?"

"Hurry it up, Wilde. I have here the rest of your gear. I need to go over with you how everything works, since you missed the meeting this morning."

Nick put on a big fake smile and placed a paw on his heart. "For me, why Savage thank you. It will just be a moment."

Nick closed the door and took his time to get ready and put on his police uniform. A good twenty minutes went by before he opened the door again. A very irritated jack rabbit was standing in front of him, one hand clenched into a fist and one foot stamping the ground angrily. This pleased Nick exceedingly.

"All ready to go, would you like to come in?"

Jack pushed past Nick and sat down on the only small chair that the room came with. He placed the briefcase on the coffee table and opened it up. Inside there were an assortment of tools, some Nick was familiar with and others he had never seen before.

Nick knelt down on the other side of the coffee table, watching Jack as he pulled out what looked like his radio.

"So… were you recently demoted or something," Nick asked slyly with an eyebrow cocked.

Jack looked up from what he was doing and glared at Nick. "What?"

"Oh, I am just saying that I am surprised to find you here doing such an unimportant job, giving the body guard his equipment. I thought you had lackeys for that…"

Jack stood up in his chair and glared down at the fox. "Cooper had to return to ZIA headquarters this morning, since he was finished with the final touches on our equipment. Koalski and Hopps are currently at the senator's side. It fell on me to get your sorry tail out of bed!"

"Sorry I asked, geez," replied Nick holding his paws up in the air.

Jack sighed. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs. Nick bet anything that the hot-headed rabbit was counting to ten before addressing him.

"Look, Wilde, let's get something straight here," said Jack walking up to Nick and standing over him, arms crossed. "I am your superior on this mission. I get that you are not my biggest fan, trust me I am used to it. I am not the easiest mammal to get along with. However, as your superior, whether you like me or not, I do deserve a level of _respect_ and I expect that you show it to me. There is far too much riding on this mission for our feelings to get in the way of our abilities. I came here, personally, so that you would understand this. I do not know what is going on between you and Hopps, but I was told that you were the best team the ZPD had to offer, and it is my hope that you both will live up to that name. I know that Judy has high hopes to prove herself on this mission as well. I am sure you would agree with me, that you would hate to get in the way of her… ambitions." Jack grinned as he said this.

Nick stood up to his full height, which was a good head higher than Jack, before answering.

"Oh, believe me, when it comes to Hopps, I am the least likely mammal to keep her from fulfilling her dreams, no matter what they may be," he answered back coldly.

Jack grinned again. "Great. Then perhaps, as her friends and as a courtesy to her, we keep things between us civil and professional. Yes?" Jack stuck out a paw waiting for a handshake. Nick was seething as he grabbed Jack's hand and gave it a firm handshake, both males squeezing each other's hands a bit harder than they would normally.

This seemed to satisfy Jack enough for the moment and continued to place Nick's radio communicator in place. Along with the communicator, Nick was given a new tranquilizer with new darts that Cooper had reassured them would be tough enough to pierce the scaly skin of any reptile, a breathing apparatus should they find themselves in need to go underwater, a voice-recording pen (this one was not shaped like a carrot), and a small laser that could cut through anything.

"The radio works in just two directions. You will only have access to talking to Cooper at the ZIA headquarters, should you need to get a hold of one of us, you have your cellphone. As soon as this communicator goes in your ear it is officially on. There is no way to turn it off. The microphone pin will stay on your collar, it is water proof as is your earbud. When you use it, try to be as discreet as possible. Most likely you will not be using it too much, since Cooper's primary job is to work with me, but you may hear his voice time and again."

Jack, standing on the table, used curious little tweezers to insert the tiny earpiece inside Nick's ear. As soon as it was in place, Nick heard a faint bit of radio feedback. Suddenly:

"HEY WILDE? WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?!"

Nick jumped high into the air and came crashing down to the ground as the sound of the raccoon's obnoxiously loud voice came blasting through the ear piece. Cooper laughed loudly in his ear, as Nick got up from the floor, bristling.

"What's the big idea!" Nick yelled into the microphone.

Cooper laughed and said, "Ah noobs gets them every time. Classic."

Nick growled in annoyance. "Um…volume level please."

"Don't worry it's back to normal, I just always like to mess with the rookies. You should have heard Hopps! Got a little bit of a sailor mouth in that bunny, huh?"

Jack chuckled quietly to himself. Nick shot him a dirty look. Jack seemed to regain his composure and cleared his throat.

"Well, Wilde, it seems like you are all ready to go," he said as he closed up the black briefcase.

"Another mission another day," came Cooper's voice again. "Sheesh Wilde, and I thought I was a slob! Your room is worse than mine!"

Nick glanced around the room as Cooper said this.

"Wait, wait he can see me," Nick asked Jack.

Before Jack could respond, Cooper's voice came ringing into both their ears. "Of course! I am the best ZIA analyst there is! We got cameras everywhere! I already hacked into the Terraria city system. Got all your furry tails covered!"

Nick looked around and spotted a camera on the wall. Huh, guess Judy was right there probably was a ZIA agent watching them sleep… and unfortunately it was an obnoxious raccoon.

"Yeah! Oh, and nice boxers by the way. Were those Hares? I have always been partial to Fruit of the Loon myself…"

"Cooper…really," sighed Jack.

"What?" This was followed by a loud slurping sound.

Jack shook his head. "We are approaching the docks and should be there in about an hour. A car will be waiting to take us to the capitol building, where Senator Prickson will meet President Phaedrus. I want you and Hopps, to be by their side no matter where they go. Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Although I have received the assurances of their government that steps will be taken to ensure our safety, we do not know how the majority of the populace will react. Go find Hopps and the Senator."

"They are on deck taking in the sights," mentioned Cooper, this time crunching on something.

"Damn it, Cooper! _Must_ you eat while on the job?"

Nick smiled at Jack's antics. He could tell the rabbit was nervous. He kept fidgeting and seemed to be ready to pounce on anything and anyone.

Nick leaned over to whisper in Jack's ear, "Sounds like some _bunny_ didn't get enough sleep last night…see what I did there, Coop?"

Jack whirled around at Nick and glared at him. Nick gave him his cockiest smile ever. Cooper's raucous laughter in both their earbuds drowned out whatever Jack had tried to respond back with.

Nick made his way up on deck and soon spotted Judy, Senator Prickson, Ms. Nutley, and Koalski talking to the captain of the ship. His little encounter with Jack earlier that morning had seemed to have lifted his spirits a little. There wasn't a doubt in his mind about Jack's intentions with Judy, even if Judy herself was unaware of them. He hadn't missed the ambiguous remark about Judy's _ambitions_.

'Whatever, Bunny Boy," he thought to himself as he came up behind the group. 'I think you will find that this particular bunny is a lot more clever and level-headed then what you may think'.

Judy turned at the sound of his footsteps, her face lit up as it always did when he came into the room (something that the sly fox had been picking up on recently), but then immediately her elation turned into worry. Nick knew it was because of the way he had reacted last night. Even though he had cleared things up with Jack, sort of, he still needed to speak to Judy. But now that they were officially 'on duty' it would be tough to get a private moment alone for the two friends to talk. The captain was busy talking to Senator Prickson and Koalski.

Judy glanced over at the group and then walked over to Nick, her ears drooping and her head down. The friends made sure to stay a bit away from the rest of the group so as they wouldn't be overheard. They both stood there silent for a moment, neither one of them wishing to be the first to speak. As Nick stole a glance at Judy, he couldn't help feeling a wave of pity wash over him. It was impossible for him to stay mad at her. To be honest, he wasn't all too sure why he was still mad at her. The only real raw feeling he had was betrayal. He couldn't help shaking this feeling that Judy might turn her sights on joining the shiny life of the ZIA after all this was over, leaving Nick in the dust…alone. He stood with arms crossed and ears flat against his head.

Finally, Judy looked up at Nick and said, "Look Nick, I am sorry about the other night. I am not sure what you over heard or what you understood, but let me just tell you what happened."

"I went to go get myself a book and your snack when I ran into Jack asleep in the mess hall…I unintentionally woke him up and he shared with me the reason why he was so stressed. Turns out that the director of the ZIA had asked him to go on a secret mission that was to be off the books and it had been weighing on him for the past few days about how he was going to accomplish this. He was asked to do some digging around on his own, mostly because the director, and to be honest everyone else, don't think that Senator Prickson is going to be able to handle the situation well with the reptilian government." Judy paused for a moment and looked up at Nick with those large purple eyes of hers.

"So, he asked you to accompany him on this top-secret mission," he asked, knowing full well what the answer was going to be.

"Well…I volunteered myself. But Nick, I mean what was I supposed to do? Let him go off on his own without backup? He was going to stick out like sore thumb…and plus…I thought this was my chance…" She paused and looked away hugging her arm with one paw.

Nick frowned. Uh-oh this was the part of the conversation that he wasn't sure if he was prepared to hear. What follows could go one of two ways. This was her chance to prove to Jack that she was ZIA potential. Or even worse, this was her chance to spend more time with Jack…

"I thought this was my chance to prove to Chief Bogo that I could be a good detective someday," she added finally almost flinching away from Nick, as if she was expecting some sort of adverse reaction to this.

Nick's arms dropped to his side and he stared at Judy, surprised at her response. He had been almost positive that she was now setting her sights on being an agent, that he wasn't expecting this.

"Well, honestly I thought this was going to be a great chance for both of us to show off our detective skills…" she admitted smiling a little bit, and blushing.

Nick felt terrible for the way he had reacted. Perhaps hanging out with such an emotional bunny was rubbing off on him. Heh. He smiled wishing so much that they were somewhere a little more private, so that he could give her a reassuring hug that everything was going to be okay.

"It's okay, Carrots," he said a little ashamedly. "I think I should be the one apologizing for over reacting. I thought— "

"Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde," called Senator Prickson interrupting their conversation. Nick and Judy both sighed at the interruption.

"Yes, Senator," said Judy returning to the Senator's side.

"Officer Hopps, the good captain has just told us that there is to be a change of courses. It seems this President Phaedrus, has changed his mind and wishes for us to dock in a less popular area! Can you believe this?"

"Has Agent Savage been informed of this," asked Judy her brows furrowed.

The Senator just shrugged and walked over to her secretary. Koalski approached Nick and Judy.

"Cooper, just informed me that Jack did receive a phone call five minutes ago with the change of schedule. It appears to be coming from the head of their homeland security department. He is on the phone with Director Hunt right now. I am not at all surprised. Reptiles are extremely precautious creatures, it seems that they are taking every precaution possible in such unknown territory."

Judy frowned and glanced over at Nick. She turned back to look at the apathetic koala, who was busy looking at some things on his tablet.

"Koalski, don't you think it's a bit suspicious that they should be changing courses so last minute. This sort of diplomatic visit, requires time and careful planning."

"Yes, it does Officer Hopps, but it seems that our scaly friends don't fully trust us and are prepared to keep us on our toes," said a voice behind them.

They all turned to find Jack behind them closing up his phone and looking very grave.

"Jack," said Judy walking up to him.

Nick felt a little twinge of jealousy as she did so. The word 'multiplying' popping into his head as he saw the two rabbits together.

"It's alright, I spoke with Director Hunt and it seems that everything does check out. It appears that our scaly friends are having their own problems with a network of criminals who have been known to frequent the popular docks. President Phaedrus wishes to keep everything as secretive as possible, because he is afraid that our presence may have the potential to cause panic throughout the city."

"Well that's the biggest load of crap I have ever heard," chimed in Cooper in all their earbuds.

"Jack, I agree with Cooper, something doesn't feel right about this," added Judy.

Jack nodded. "Unfortunately, Judy we are at the mercy of our hosts and most follow directions. I would strongly advise everyone to be on your guard and keep your weapon's safety off. Please do not do anything to alarm the senator or her secretary. I don't want her to become anymore of an annoying nuisance than she already is." He glanced over at the senator's direction with a look of disgust on his face.

Nick had to agree with the rabbit on that. He glanced over at Judy and not for the first time wished that they were both far away from this situation and safe. The new guns that were given to them were supposed to be able to break through even a crocodile's skin, but looking around him he was the largest mammal of the group… and, in comparison to a crocodile or alligator, that wasn't saying much. Suddenly a huge weight of responsibility fell on his shoulders as he looked down at all the rest of his fellow comrades.

"Jack, I have extra cartridges of darts on standby in case you all should need them. I got Barty on standby to for package delivery," Cooper said in a uncharacteristically serious tone.

"Great, thanks just do us a favor and keep your eyes peeled for us. It may be difficult when we are in the car, but once we reach the capitol things should get easier. I will go and reassure the senator. I suggest we all get our gear and grab a seat on deck for the great reveal of this reptilian city."

Minutes later, Nick was standing next to Judy as they watched in awe as they reached the bay. It was very different than what Nick was used to. Terraria rested on a large island with mountains, and lush green forests on one side, and barren deserts and canyons on the other side. It was as Koalski mentioned 'the perfect environment for any reptile'. The major city was nestled inside a large canyon with half of it underground and the other half above ground on the borders of the large rainforests. Unlike Zootopia, the majority of the citizens of Terraria stayed relatively within the confines of their particular environments. Here there was no large machines to make it cold or hot. They preferred to let nature take care of that. This basically meant that the city was divided into four districts: forest, swamp, desert, and beach.

The mammals approached from the beach district. The vegetation lining the beaches was tropical. Lines of coconut trees and large bamboo forests rose up towering above the rocky beaches. There were large cliff faces that camouflaged the houses made of rock and seemed to be more apartments than houses. Each building had at least twenty or more windows carved into it. At times, it felt like their modest ship towered over the tiny buildings on the beach, and then they would turn a corner and everything was back to normal with much larger houses with what looked like boat ramps for front doors.

"Those houses must be for the aquatic reptiles," chimed in Koalski as they passed the sixth house with the front or back door entrance right at the water's edge.

"Aquatic reptiles," asked Senator Prickson as she took pictures with her phone.

"Certainly, sea turtles, marine iguanas and sea snakes all prefer to stay close to the water if not in the water for majority of their time."

Around a corner, everyone was surprised to find that there were indeed buildings coming out of the ocean itself with several levels beneath the surface of the water. In fact, Nick was pretty sure they were sailing ABOVE an entire district of the city. Several of the sea turtles poked their heads out of the water and stared at the large ship and its furry occupants. Some of the younger turtles dove back underwater in fear. Due to the nature of the buildings, the captain had to call out his sailors to keep an eye out to make sure that their ship didn't hit any of the… swimmers or buildings!

Around another large rock, they found what looked like to be an industrial area. Large warehouses loomed in the distance and the beginnings of a few normal looking buildings lined the water's edge. This part of the city seemed almost deserted. It gave every mammal on board an uneasy feeling as the ship finally docked on what seemed to be an abandoned bridge. As the sailors, worked around them to make the final preparations on the ship, Senator Prickson and Ms. Nutley were both on the phones yelling at someone for leading them to what appeared to be an abandoned part of the city.

Nick surveyed the area. It looked to be an older part of town, many of the buildings were low and many of them were small. He could understand now why he was the largest animal on the team, it looked like it would even take a miracle for him to squeeze through some of those doorways. Although the buildings were not as small as those found in Little Rodentia, Nick was pretty certain that Stella's play house was not that much bigger.

Senator Prickson, finally off her phone, approached them all looking very distraught and downcast. "It appears this is the older fishing village that had been pretty much kept unused, thanks to new trading deals. It appears that this is the most unpopulated part of town. President Phaedrus will be sending a car for us, the captain and his crew have all received instructions to refuel and then to set sail again. It appears we approached the island from the wrong direction."

"What do you mean Senator," asked Judy.

"We were not supposed to have come through the Turtle District as he calls it. I didn't speak with the president himself, but the vice-president is furious with us." The hedgehog took off her glasses and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them clean. Nick noticed her hand was shaking quite a bit as she did so.

"Agent Savage, I trust you and your team are ready to do you all for us," asked Prickson, turning towards Jack with her glasses back on her nose. "I do not think that these…beasts will be as civilized company as we are used to."

Jack bowed his head a little before answering, "Don't worry Senator, my team are all the very best in their fields. No harm shall come to you or Ms. Nutley. I promise."

"Agent Savage, a car has just pulled up for at the bridge," observed Judy looking over the side of the ship.

Everyone looked over the edge to see a very sleek looking limousine make its way up the bridge and park alongside the ship. The air around the small group of mammals immediately became so tense that it could have been cut with a knife.

Nick and Judy took their places alongside the hedgehog and squirrel. Jack and Koalski led the group in the front. They bade the captain and crew farewell as they descended from the ship.

The air smelled of salt, ocean, fish, and of course that terrible smell that Nick had first experienced before on board the Mackeral. He wrinkled his nose as the group walked up alongside the car.

"Well, some manners where is the driver or are we to open the doors ourselves," demanded Prickson looking most put out.

As if they had heard her, the black door of the limousine opened. Out stepped a large lizard wearing a chauffeur uniform. Prickson, Nutley, Judy and Nick all gasped at the sight of this lizard who stood almost as tall as Nick. He came around the side of the car and quietly tipped his cap to them. As he did so, a long-forked tongue shot out from his lips, causing everyone even Jack and Koalski to jump.

"Afternoon," he whispered as he opened the passenger door to the limo.

Nothing could have mentally prepared Nick for what next came out of the limo. There was a strange thumping noise as its long tail hit the floor. What followed was the long sleek body of a snake. At first it appeared that he was naked, but then they soon found that close to where the arms would have been on a regular animal there was a white feathered boa over what looked like a sleeveless red dress. When the head of the snake had finally come out of the car, a shiver went up and down Nick's spine. The snake, at first appeared to be an ugly brown color, but as it slithered its way over to the group of mammals, Nick saw that it had a diamond pattern on its back and instead of brown, the color was almost copper.

The serpent slithered up to the group and bowed her head politely and almost elegantly. The same forked tongue kept flicking in and out of her mouth in a most disturbing manner.

"Welcome mammals," she hissed, "to Terraria. I am to be your guide during your time here. My name is Najila and Antony will be your driver. I trusst that your journey was a pleasant one?"

Author's Note: Hey everyone sorry for my long absence. Please feel free to read and review. I am open to suggestions. I actually was inspired to write this fic, because I love Zootopia and I love WildeHopps! I also really love love triangles… I came across the character of Jack Savage through aoimotion and rem289's awesome comic, 'Black Jack' if you haven't checked it out you should. I wanted to take my own stab at a character that I think should be in the sequel! So, like I said I won't be updating as much as I need to study. But rest assured I plan to see this fic to the end! Thanks again!


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